His time has come and now we will take in a Thursday night game in the middle of the desert and watch, critique and hope his time doesn’t end for a while.
I said it on Twitter, but I will repeat it here. Just like in the famous movie Airplane when Leslie Nielson enters the cockpit while the plane is crash landing, all I wanna say to Matt Harvey is… Good luck, we are all counting on you.
Is that a fair statement to make?
Yes and No.
Its fair because his talent and ability is there and we know that he can be a potential mainstay in the rotation. Its not fair because most of us will put a lot of stock into his start on Thursday and make quick judgements.
Drafted #7 overall in the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina, by the Omar Minaya regime, he has shot up the Mets system with relative ease.
In 245 2/3 innings as a professional over the last two seasons between Single-A St. Lucie, Double-A Binghamton, and Triple-A Buffalo, Harvey is 20-10 with a 3.46 in 46 starts.
He has allowed 95 earned runs, 222 hits, 95 walks, 18 home runs and has 268 strikeouts.
Do those numbers blow you away? I wouldn’t think that they would. But as I have said in the past, I’m no expert on the minor league system and what to look for beyond the numbers.
Harvey, was 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Buffalo this season. He allowed 97 hits, 48 walks, nine home runs, and 45 earned runs while striking out 112 in 110 innings.
Again, solid enough to get the call up from the Mets to make a start in what is considering a week that will make the Mets contenders or pretenders more than likely.
But does the hype and expectations that has followed him during his 2012 season need to pause and allow us to be more patient and calculating with his performance in the Majors?
I think that should be answered with a resounding YES!
As fans, we have been down that road before, whether it was the promise of Generation K, the hope and heartache that followed Mike Pelfrey or the most recent example, the rushing and ultimate frustration with Jenrry Mejia.
Sure, we have seen success stories as well with Doc Gooden, Jon Niese, Ron Darling, and even Jon Matlack.
But the search for our generations, Seaver, or Gooden has come up empty more often than not and that frustrates us as a fan base.
Jon Niese is a very solid pitcher, and Im a big fan of his potential, but I dont think we are gonna be telling our grandkids about him either.
With a second half team ERA of over six and the starting rotation down three pitchers from the beginning of the season, the pressure and expectations will be high on Matt Harvey
The point is, as someone told me as I was writing this piece, nobody truly knows what to expect and all we can do is watch, hope and enjoy the ride.
But remember Matt Harvey, the next great Mets hope, good luck, were all counting on you.
