Let Matt Harvey Pitch!

Storyline: If I’m the Mets’ manager I’d let Matt Harvey pitch. You might only get one shot at this, Mets. Make it count!

Listening to Matt Harvey speak to the media about limiting his innings due to Tommy John surgery brought thoughts of a few years ago – about the Nationals limiting Steven Strasburg.

Courtesy: www.newyorkmetsreport.com

Washington told everybody that they were going to limit his innings, and they did just that. The Nationals were arrogant at the time, assuming that they would be in the playoffs year in and year out. They wanted to protect their ace.

But they haven’t had nearly the success as envisioned, and they’re still struggling to keep all of their major pieces intact.

I completely understand about wanting to protect your assets, especially guys that are in their early-to-mid-20s. Teams just don’t want to take chances. And Tommy John surgery is as common as a strain or a pull in today’s baseball. A number of ball players have had two, even three, surgeries.

How do you protect pitchers? You can limit innings. You can work them out of the bullpen.

The New York Mets, a team that hasn’t been to the postseason in nearly a decade, are going to limit their ace, Matt Harvey, to a bullpen role. The Mets want to protect his career. But, really: could there be words any more frustrating to Mets’ fans? Why is he even starting if he can’t pitch at the most important time of the season?

Pit PG=pitches thrown, game (Graphic courtesy: veooz.com)

Their ace is coming off Tommy John. The team is not overly talented. Things are going perfectly for them right now. How is there even a thought of limiting their ace’s innings?

As a Toronto Blue Jays fan, I know that you have to be all-in whenever you get the chance. It has been 20 years since the Jays have had a sniff of the postseason.

If the Washington Nationals had become the team we thought they would be, then maybe the Mets don’t get this chance. Cespedes could move on elsewhere. David Wright is injury prone. And their stud pitchers don’t all develop perfectly. That puts them right back to square one–dreaming about what could have been.

We all know what a top-of-the-rotation starter means in the playoffs: we’ve watched Madison Bumgarner own the playoffs for the 3 of the past 5 years. But, after reading new reports, it sounds like the Mets will limit Harvey’s innings leading up to the playoffs.

This story has Stephen Strasburg written all over it. Think about when the Nationals had baseball’s best record … and still went down in 5 games to the Giants. Now they have a bunch of money wrapped up in aging superstars, Werth and Zimmerman. They locked up Scherzer for big money, and they’ll have to do the same with Harper at some point.

Courtesy: CBSNews

Why aren’t the Mets learning from the Nationals’ experience? The Mets might only have one shot to get it done. Trying to predict how every single prospect will develop is never a good strategy for a pro ball team. Other factors will always come into play. So when you have your one shot…take it. Lay all the chips down on the table.

The Mets will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs – everything is firing on all cylinders and their young staff can match up with any staff in the league. Let Harvey pitch. You drafted him. You brought Cespedes in.

If were the manager, I’d call on Matt Harvey in Game 1–just like what should have been done with Stephen Strasburg.

You might only get one shot at this, Mets. Make it count.