Former New York Mets and New York Yankees pitcher David Cone, who currently works the Yankees’ broadcasts on YES, joined Michael Kay and Don La Greca this week to talk about the Mets, Yankees and the upcoming season.
Cone, as it turns out, can relate a lot to Matt Harvey. A strikeout pitcher in his day, Cone had some suspect defenses behind him, and he said Manager Davey Johnson was willing to make those sacrifices for the bats. Despite the surgeries, though, Cone said that he thinks Harvey, if healthy, is in the elite in terms of starting pitcher in the Major Leagues.
“I think that he’s one of the best young starting pitchers that I’ve seen come in the game in a long time because of the combination of the power and his control as well,” Cone said. “Rarely do you see a guy that young control a quality change-up, a quality curve and a slider, and obviously that power baseball.”
La Greca asked Cone about Clayton Kershaw, viewed by many as the best pitcher in baseball, and his playoff struggles. He asked if Harvey, when hopefully given a chance, would be in that same boat or if he could overcome it and be a dominant force in October and beyond.
“The post-season could be a crapshoot, even for a starting pitcher,” Cone responded. “A lot of times, you’re relying on run support.”
“I do see Matt Harvey as the type of pitcher who can dominate a game, who can take over and almost single-handedly win a game,” Cone added. “That’s what the great pitchers do in big games.”
He also spoke about six-man rotations, how teams treat their pitchers recovering from surgeries, defensive struggles and the Yankees. Check out the video below for more.
