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Keidel: Harvey's Disastrous Season Takes Another Dark Turn

By Jason Keidel
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Once Matt Harvey landed like a missile on the mound, he assumed many handles, personas and risks.

He wasn't content with being a young, handsome and wildly gifted pitcher who seemed to exhume the Mets with every masterful pitch. He loved it all, not just the wins but the winds of excitement and adoration that only come with winning here.

MORE: Alderson: Mets' Harvey Weighing Season-Ending Surgery

Tom Verducci opened the door to stardom, with that piece in Sports Illustrated, forever branding Harvey "the Dark Knight of Gotham," and Harvey blasted through.

And you heard no objections from Harvey, no, "I just wanna pitch and pray." There was no overt attempt to keep it modest or moderate, to bring low-key regularity to the mound. He had no desire to be Eli Manning. He was all Odell Beckham Jr.

Matt Harvey
Matt Harvey (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Which is all good when you win. Every athlete who's ever lived will tell you there's no better place to bring a ring than New York.

Harvey took a juicy bite from the Big Apple in 2013, when he entered the national dialogue. Then he was tossed into the Tommy John cocktail in 2014. Then he returned to heroic form in 2015.

You're not the only one to notice it - the change in disposition or demeanor. Harvey has clearly lost something, be it magic or mojo, which, frankly, seems to be part of one thing.

Part of what made Harvey so special was more than a moving fastball or the instant resurrection of a forlorn franchise. He seemed to embrace the role and challenge of reviving a moribund club, one that seems to tickle a title -- World Series, pennant or NL East -- or a wild car before plunging back into some baseball sinkhole for a few years.

Now Harvey has been banished to the DL with shoulder issues. A fitting irony and metaphor, as Harvey has shouldered a few loads since his epic entrance into New York City.

By many accounts, this is more than your generic stiffness after a bad start -- of which there have been many this young season. This could be a game-changer, or a season-ender.

And by all accounts, 2016 has been a disaster. Harvey leaves the rotation with a 4-10 record and 4.86 ERA, with a startling 1.47 WHIP. Speaking of startling, if this is indeed Harvey's swan song for the season, his last start was a perfect microcosm.

Harvey tossed just 3 2/3 innings, surrendering six runs (five earned) on 11 hits. And he was hardly sizzling entering that woeful game against Miami, having lost seven of his last nine starts.

There are as many theories as there are voices. Some say he pitched way too many innings last year, particularly coming off Tommy John. Others say the Mets handled Harvey perfectly, as his final charge into October 2016 was two years after the reconstructive surgery, more than enough time to heal.

One theory hardly offered -- and one yours truly has at least pondered -- is not the pitches or innings but rather his last inning of 2015.

Would it shock anyone if Harvey were still shell-shocked by his World Series failure? Failure, of course, is a harsh way of branding a brilliant performance in Game 5 against the Royals. But technically and officially, he did not close that game after demanding that manager Terry Collins keep him in.

And it has to be a big blow to his pride to go from the ace of a bejeweled staff to an afterthought, sliding down the rungs of a staff he used to rule. Injuries are part of pro sports. And it's not like Harvey wants to be saddled by the twin burdens of a bruised shoulder and battered ego. But with great power comes ...

No matter exactly why he's been so bad this year, Harvey clearly is. And Mets fans need to let him go, for at least this year. And pick up the pieces next year. Because Matt Harvey is truly in shambles.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel

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