Monday, September 28, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
To Keep Cespedes, The Dark Knight Could Leave Gotham
Since Cespedes has put on the Mets uniform he has been incredible. Undisputedly the best mid-season pickup in the MLB, and arguably the most impactful deadline trade in the past decade. In a Mets uniform Cespedes has put up a batting average of .310 on base percentage of .355 and a fantastic slugging percentage of .684. Every major league team that has traded Cespedes in the past, is currently in last place. He really does make a difference.
That on it's own. I believe speaks for the reasoning in which the Mets need to re-sign Cespedes. However coming up with the money to pay the slugger could be difficult. The Mets have had a lot of controversy with Matt Harvey in the past weeks, pushing fans away from the once lovable Dark Knight. After this extravaganza, Harvey has lost a lot of fans, which has effected his game on the field. Is it possible that Queens (Gotham) could not be the right fit for the Dark Knight anymore? If you were to ask a Mets fan who they would rather keep right now, Cespedes or Harvey, I strongly believe that the answer would be Cespedes (wish I could do a poll, respond to my unscientific poll on the right).
Cespedes not only improves the Mets with his own power, but he forces opposing pitchers to give more hittable pitches to other hitters. Pitchers do not want to face Cespedes, as a consequence, they have to pitch to player like Wright, d'Arnaud, Murphy, Duda and Flores. This is why the Cespedes acquisition has resulted in a total offensive success. The power of one great player in the lineup goes beyond just his at-bats.
As far as Harvey's impact, he is not the Dark Knight of 2013. Harvey's current pitching level has the possibility of being replaced. The right hander is still worth a great deal which is why the Mets could sell/trade him and use that money to pay Cespedes. Logan Verrett has done a fine job in replacement and Zack Wheeler will be back next year which could create a pitching surplus for the Mets. The Mets need to keep Cespedes to stay postseason contenders and getting money for Harvey could be the answer.
That on it's own. I believe speaks for the reasoning in which the Mets need to re-sign Cespedes. However coming up with the money to pay the slugger could be difficult. The Mets have had a lot of controversy with Matt Harvey in the past weeks, pushing fans away from the once lovable Dark Knight. After this extravaganza, Harvey has lost a lot of fans, which has effected his game on the field. Is it possible that Queens (Gotham) could not be the right fit for the Dark Knight anymore? If you were to ask a Mets fan who they would rather keep right now, Cespedes or Harvey, I strongly believe that the answer would be Cespedes (wish I could do a poll, respond to my unscientific poll on the right).
Cespedes not only improves the Mets with his own power, but he forces opposing pitchers to give more hittable pitches to other hitters. Pitchers do not want to face Cespedes, as a consequence, they have to pitch to player like Wright, d'Arnaud, Murphy, Duda and Flores. This is why the Cespedes acquisition has resulted in a total offensive success. The power of one great player in the lineup goes beyond just his at-bats.
As far as Harvey's impact, he is not the Dark Knight of 2013. Harvey's current pitching level has the possibility of being replaced. The right hander is still worth a great deal which is why the Mets could sell/trade him and use that money to pay Cespedes. Logan Verrett has done a fine job in replacement and Zack Wheeler will be back next year which could create a pitching surplus for the Mets. The Mets need to keep Cespedes to stay postseason contenders and getting money for Harvey could be the answer.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Harvey: The anti-Wilmer
Despite my last post about Harvey showing durability, Matt Harvey has become a less of a competitor since. Having pitched 166 1/3 innings thus-far, The Dark Knight was supposed to be capped at 180 innings in a rehab year post Tommy John surgery. With the Mets being postseason contenders, the big question became: Would Harvey pitch in the postseason?
Harvey, who had already skipped a few starts to conserve his innings, decided not to have a civil conversation with the Mets, but instead, have his agent Scott Boras speak about the topic to the public, and said that Matt should not exceed 180 innings as prescribed by a doctor. This was the complete wrong approach. The Mets, Matt Harvey, and Scott Boras should have sat down for a private discussion.
Initially, Harvey expressed no disagreement in Boras's comments. Harvey received a rude awakening from the fans. He became the anti-Wilmer. As much as people love Wilmer Flores for crying on the field and showing that he wants to be a Met, People now extremely dislike Harvey. He presented himself as a lack of a competitor. The Mets are talking about being in the postseason for the first time in seven years, and Harvey is thinking about shutting it down? That is not the competitive Dark Knight that Mets fans knew in 2013.
Harvey throughout the season was against the 6 man rotation (which would have given him one extra day of rest before every start). Which leads everybody thinking: Why is he complaining now? Harvey did a terrible thing for himself as a Met. However now Harvey is trying to polish everything up and says "I will pitch in the playoffs." This is good news for Mets fans, however they still need to make it there! The Mets are only in first by four games going into a three game series against the second place Nationals.
Maybe Boras was making the right decision for his client, but he did not do it in the right way. This left Mets fans angry with Harvey, giving him a clear choice, which is to pitch in the playoffs. I think that this was the right call, who knows the next time that Matt Harvey will be thinking about pitching in October.
Harvey, who had already skipped a few starts to conserve his innings, decided not to have a civil conversation with the Mets, but instead, have his agent Scott Boras speak about the topic to the public, and said that Matt should not exceed 180 innings as prescribed by a doctor. This was the complete wrong approach. The Mets, Matt Harvey, and Scott Boras should have sat down for a private discussion.
Initially, Harvey expressed no disagreement in Boras's comments. Harvey received a rude awakening from the fans. He became the anti-Wilmer. As much as people love Wilmer Flores for crying on the field and showing that he wants to be a Met, People now extremely dislike Harvey. He presented himself as a lack of a competitor. The Mets are talking about being in the postseason for the first time in seven years, and Harvey is thinking about shutting it down? That is not the competitive Dark Knight that Mets fans knew in 2013.
Harvey throughout the season was against the 6 man rotation (which would have given him one extra day of rest before every start). Which leads everybody thinking: Why is he complaining now? Harvey did a terrible thing for himself as a Met. However now Harvey is trying to polish everything up and says "I will pitch in the playoffs." This is good news for Mets fans, however they still need to make it there! The Mets are only in first by four games going into a three game series against the second place Nationals.
Maybe Boras was making the right decision for his client, but he did not do it in the right way. This left Mets fans angry with Harvey, giving him a clear choice, which is to pitch in the playoffs. I think that this was the right call, who knows the next time that Matt Harvey will be thinking about pitching in October.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Tommy What? Harvey Shows Durability
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014, and having an all-star season in 2013, when Matt Harvey came back in 2015, fans were unsure what to expect. With a strict 200 innings limit, Harvey was anticipating a rebuilding year. Post Tommy John surgery, Mets fans were expecting brief starts from the youngster, seeing as how they would not want a reoccurring injury. Although Harvey has not pitched with the same dominance that he did in 2013, he is exceeding expectations on another front.
Citi Field is ranked by Bleacher Report to be the second hardest stadium to hit home runs. With that being said, Mets pitchers usually thrive at home; however none like Matt Harvey has this season. Harvey has gone at least six innings, every time that he has pitched this year at Citi Field. This is outstanding considering the setbacks that he has had. Of course it is easy to give the credit to this stat to Citi Field, however, believe it or not, Harvey has done some pretty incredible stuff.
Throughout the year, the Mets have been a home based team, having a 44-23 home record, and only a 29-35 road record. However, in recent outing, Harvey has done outstanding things with his slider. Somebody like him has a lot on his fastball, in terms of velocity and movement, but if it is the only pitch that he can locate, then he is in trouble. The difference in Harvey's starts has been when he can locate that slider for a strike, and get hitters out with that pitch.
Coming off his surgery, nobody expected this type of durability from Harvey. He has proved people wrong and he has been pitching like the Dark Knight that us Mets fans remember.
Citi Field is ranked by Bleacher Report to be the second hardest stadium to hit home runs. With that being said, Mets pitchers usually thrive at home; however none like Matt Harvey has this season. Harvey has gone at least six innings, every time that he has pitched this year at Citi Field. This is outstanding considering the setbacks that he has had. Of course it is easy to give the credit to this stat to Citi Field, however, believe it or not, Harvey has done some pretty incredible stuff.
Throughout the year, the Mets have been a home based team, having a 44-23 home record, and only a 29-35 road record. However, in recent outing, Harvey has done outstanding things with his slider. Somebody like him has a lot on his fastball, in terms of velocity and movement, but if it is the only pitch that he can locate, then he is in trouble. The difference in Harvey's starts has been when he can locate that slider for a strike, and get hitters out with that pitch.
Coming off his surgery, nobody expected this type of durability from Harvey. He has proved people wrong and he has been pitching like the Dark Knight that us Mets fans remember.
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