6/29/16

WHAT'S WRONG WITH HARVEY!!!! by Tom Brennan

WHAT'S WRONG WITH HARVEY!!!! by Tom Brennan

What the heck is wrong with that Matt Harvey? 

Met fans' myopia, is all.  Because....

NOTHING is wrong with Matt Harvey.

We as run-starved Mets fans expect Matt to perform miracles, but a full analysis causes one to consider all factors. 

The overriding Matt Harvey problem since he turned pro?  He did not force his reluctant teammates to hit for him.  It's all Matt's fault for not forcing them to score more for him.

I looked back at his career: any guy who has a career 2.88 ERA over 81 starts should have a fine career record, not 29-28.  Wins in just 29 of his 81 career starts, only 36%! 

Darn, what is WRONG with this guy?

Let me repeat: NOTHING.

In those 28 career losses, 36% of his starts, they have scored a dismal 48 runs.  JUST 48 RUNS!!!!  JUST 1.7 RUNS PER GAME.

In those 24 career no-decisions, 30% of his starts, they have scored a nearly-as-dismal 69 runs.  JUST 2.9 RUNS PER GAME.  And in 3 of those games, they scored 21 runs, so in the other 21 NDs, just 2.3 runs per game.

In the unbelievable 64% of games that he either lost or had an ND, a gosh-awful 117 runs in 52 games, or 2.25 runs per game.

So, let me repeat again...what is wrong with Matt Harvey?  The stinking team he has played for, that's what.

Yeah, Tom, but what about 2016?  What about this team ever picking HIM up, rather than the other way around?  Matt struggled early in 2016 for sure, but in his last 6 starts, he has surrendered just 9 runs, which is superlative, and yet is 1-3 in that stretch!!!

Tom Seaver went through the same crap before he went to Cincy.  Despite some ERA slippage in Cincy (he clearly was starting to slide, as one has to factor in that he now had the HUGE benefit of pitching against awfully puny Mets hitters), he had a year where he went 14-2 and one where he went 14-3 with the Reds.

My advice to Matt?  If it is up to you, unless this historically awful offensive team puts in REAL fixes, and commits to fielding a team that scores in the top third of all teams in baseball instead of the bottom 5, leave when you can.  As fast as you can.

Become the winning pitcher we all know you ought to be.


4 comments:

Reese Kaplan said...

I was about to refute you with statistics but surprise, surprise he's been rock solid for a month now. Since pitching zero earned runs in a May 30th start he's overall sporting a 2.27 ERA and batters are hitting a paltry .216 against him. You're right...he's not winning, but this type of pitching is what we've come to expect from him. His strikeout numbers are still down, but it appears he's making the adjustment to getting people out other ways.

Tom Brennan said...

Hi Reese, even before 2016, despite being dazzling, Harvey was just able to eke out 25-18.

It is borderline malpractice to send this guy out with an F Troop offense his entire career. The ownership needs to fix this historical offensive pablum. Fans should be relentless until they do. Their Mission Statement should include a statement that it is our Goal and Expectation to be a Top 10 Major League Offense.

If he were pitching for the Red Sox this year, he honestly might be 10-4.

Jake deGrom too - no decisions since April 30? He may be a notch down from last year - but he is still great. He is getting screwed, too.

Tom Brennan said...

Another offensive outburst against Scherzer this time. All the offense is tiring. At least we held Murphy to 2 homers.

Tom Brennan said...
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