The Morning Report 9.3.2015 | The Harvey Plan is the Right Plan, Lost Season for Vic Black, Conforto Continues to Platoon in 2015

Matt Vaccaro | New York Post- Harvey had started the game brilliantly, had clearly lost a yard or two on his fastball, had lost a little bite on the other pitches. After a month of otherworldliness, he had merely been of-this-world-liness. The Mets were fine with that. Identifying Harvey for what they believe him to be — their horse, the nucleus around which their precise October plans reside — is more essential. And as his strength sapped, we might have seen that a vulnerable Harvey still can be a valuable Harvey. “This is the time of year we’ve talked about, that he’s talked about,” Collins had said before the game. “One of the things we had discussed all summer long, when all the innings things started to rear its ugly head, Matt said, ‘I’m pitching in the playoffs. If we get to the playoffs, I want to be able to pitch.’ ”

(Chris Soto: There is now talks about skipping Harvey again during the month of September just to be sure that he will have innings left over for October should the Mets hold on and get there. It's the smart move and the correct one at the same time and Harvey seems to finally be on board with the plan. Secretly, the front office is hoping that the team continues to put the peddle to the floor and lock this thing up before the last week of the season. If they can, it will allow them to essentially bench deGrom, Syndergaard, and Harvey for another turn through the rotation to make sure they are fresh for the start of the playoffs.)

Joe D. | Metsmerized Online- When I first learned that the Mets had traded Marlon Byrd to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vic Black and Dilson Herrera, I remember an article on FanGraphs entitled Vic Black, Pirates Closer of the Future. I became a huge Black fan almost immediately. He had an electric 4-seam fastball and a great slider that came down and in to left-handed hitters, potentially making him a solid crossover reliever in the near future. I had high hopes for him. So it was kind of sad to hear that the Mets had outrighted him to Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, which essentially means he was removed from the 40 man roster. A herniated disc in his neck as well as a shoulder strain sent him to the DL and derailed his season.

(Chris Soto: I was very surprised that Black not only was DFA'd off the 40 man roster...but actually cleared waivers. There are a number of rebuilding teams that could certainly use a strong young arm to anchor their future rotations. The fact that he cleared means that GM's all around the MLB are afraid about just how much damage he has sustained from his injuries over the past 18 months. Like Joe said...it really is a shame to see so much talented be limited due to poor health. Hopefully Black can recover some more over the off-season and earn a spot back on the 40 man roster next year.)

Adam Rubin | ESPN New York-  New York Mets manager Terry Collins consistently has said that rookie left fielder Michael Conforto will not be a platoon player during his career. Still, because of the presence of righty-hitting outfielders Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Cuddyer and Juan Lagares, the lefty-hitting Conforto essentially will be a platoon player this season. “We’ve brought people in here that hit lefties, that have a career record of hitting lefties,” Collins said. “And right now that’s what we’ve been doing, and I’m going to stay with it.”

(Chris Soto: Look...there is no doubt that Conforto is going to be a special player for the Mets for at a bare minimum the next 6 seasons, However, the Mets have guys on the roster right now that crush lefties. There's no sense letting those guys ride the pine.....like Keith Hernandez says "Play to Your  Strengths!" Having Conforto in vs righties and other guys in vs lefties it working really well right now so if it aint broke....don't fix it! There will be an everyday job for him in 2016.)