D Whit - A Tale of Two Righties

Two Met pitchers returning from TJS take the mound this month for the first time since last August. One of those pitchers’ return to the hill will be headline fodder for websites and sports pages in New York and beyond. A collective short sigh of relief will be heard from a fanbase holding its breath since August 26^th of last year. That pitcher, Matt Harvey, is seen as the face of franchise, its once and future ace. He’s the Dark Knight coming back to save Gotham and possibly the 2013 Mets season. Robin aka Zack Wheeler has done what he can, but the boy wonder, talented as he is, can only do so much without Batman. 

There is a lot riding on the surgery-scarred, ligament-replaced right arm of Matt Harvey. As for the other pitcher well his return will be met with much less fanfare-probably a blurb on sport websites like ESPN.com and mentions in the local NY dailies. Let’s face it unlike Harvey, when Jeremy Hefner throws next Tuesday press will be sparse and paparazzi non-existent. Manager Terry Collins and Dan Warthen will be in attendance, possibly a member of the Front Office but that’s about it. The return of Hefner will be largely a non-event. The irony of course is that of the two, Hefner is more likely to have an impact on the fortunes of the 2014 Metropolitans. 

Harvey, justifiably so, will be handled with kid gloves and although Hefner won’t be rushed back there’s no sense of urgency of keeping him for the future as there is with Harvey.  Hefner wants to prove to the Mets or another organization that he is healthy and ready to contribute fully in 2015. The only way to do that is pitch MLB innings in 2014. To the Mets point of view there is more now than later value to Hefner’s right arm, especially if they ship out Colon and/or Gee later this season or choose to take it slow with Syndegaard. Hefner could fill a void left by the departure of Colon and/or Gee. He is also more likely to be back up to speed, since let’s face it speed is not his pitching forte, he’s more a craftsman on the mound and will probably throw near the same velocity when he comes  back as he did pre-injury.

Although Matt Harvey’s return will be greeted with much more fanfare-deservedly so-it’s Hefner’s return that is potentially more important to the fate of the 2014 season. There’s way too much at stake to allow Harvey to pitch very much, if it all, in a 2014 game and even for the best pitchers it takes a few months after their return to really get back the velocity as well as command. Since Hefner’s not a hard thrower the return of his velocity is less of an issue. Because of this he could help right away and be an important part of the last 6-8 weeks of the season. 

Let’s not forget that over seven starts between May 29^th-July 12^th last season Hefner didn’t allow more than three earned runs in a game while lowering his season ERA to 3.33. He went in the tank after that but who knows how frayed his UCL was at that point.

The NL East specifically and the 2014 MLB season in general looks to be shaping up into one of parity with few dominant teams. It’s conceivable that the Mets could be in the WC hunt well into September. It’s not inconceivable that the Mets forgotten man Jeremy Hefner and his surgically repaired right elbow could play a large role in keeping the Mets in the chase. In a perfect world for Met fans I’d imagine they’d love to see Hefner pitch well either at the back of the rotation, or long man out of the pen, joined by an Ace-like Noah Syndegaard and a resurgent Zack Wheeler to make the final game of the season on September 28^th vs. the Astros meaningful. 

In that perfect world-with the season on the line-Hefner would probably not be the one you'd call on but a strong back end of the season performance by the pitcher would make more real a dream scenario for Met fans. One where a certain fastball throwing Dark Knight returns-pitching the Mets into the WC game before a frenzied-Shake Shack-fueled Citi Field crowd.But in looking at tonight's score they'd better figure out a way to beat the Chicago Cubs of the world first.