Matt Harvey tried to deliver a mea cupla to the Mets fanbase, his teammates and coaches on Tuesday in an effort to show that he will work on improving his image. In a rather restrained eight minute press conference, Harvey pinned the blame on himself. He owned up to partying late on Friday night into Saturday morning, and golfing later that day before deciding not to head to work that night.
In the eight minute press conference that at times felt more like a tooth extraction than a sincere apology, Harvey said the word 'apologize' 12 times,' embarrassed' four times, and repeatedly said that he won't put himself in a position to hurt his team again. We'll see.
As far as the grievance against the Mets, Harvey said he was not thinking about filing any paperwork against the Mets for penalizing him $85,000 for the three days he was out. Again, we'll see.
The fact, is the Mets and Harvey are destined for a break-up between now and the end of the 2018 season. This will be the story of the off-season and next year, when the Mets will certainly look to ship Harvey, his bad attitude and his agent Scott Boras, out of town.
Until that time it is important for Harvey to go out and prove that he still has something left in the tank. There has been a lot of questions about whether Harvey still has a desire to play the game, especially in light of last weekend's story. The world will be focused in tonight in Milwaukee when Harvey is on the hill against the Brewers for the first time since that incident. The Brewers are a mediocre 18-17, but first baseman Eric Thames has been killing it with 13 homers and 25 RBI through 31 games. It has also been a quiet reinsance year for Ryan Braun, (.287, 7 HR, 18 RBI). Make no mistake, the Brewers might be average, but they are better than the Mets right now.
This will be a tough test. For Harvey, who comes into this game with an ERA of 5.14, he needs to be at his very best. This was a guy who built a reputation early in his career as a big game pitcher and bulldog. The Mets need to see that Harvey tonight. With his back against the wall, a brilliant effort tonight by the Mets righty will be the best apology he can offer. Anything less will just get entice the media sharks to attack.
In the eight minute press conference that at times felt more like a tooth extraction than a sincere apology, Harvey said the word 'apologize' 12 times,' embarrassed' four times, and repeatedly said that he won't put himself in a position to hurt his team again. We'll see.
As far as the grievance against the Mets, Harvey said he was not thinking about filing any paperwork against the Mets for penalizing him $85,000 for the three days he was out. Again, we'll see.
The fact, is the Mets and Harvey are destined for a break-up between now and the end of the 2018 season. This will be the story of the off-season and next year, when the Mets will certainly look to ship Harvey, his bad attitude and his agent Scott Boras, out of town.
Until that time it is important for Harvey to go out and prove that he still has something left in the tank. There has been a lot of questions about whether Harvey still has a desire to play the game, especially in light of last weekend's story. The world will be focused in tonight in Milwaukee when Harvey is on the hill against the Brewers for the first time since that incident. The Brewers are a mediocre 18-17, but first baseman Eric Thames has been killing it with 13 homers and 25 RBI through 31 games. It has also been a quiet reinsance year for Ryan Braun, (.287, 7 HR, 18 RBI). Make no mistake, the Brewers might be average, but they are better than the Mets right now.
This will be a tough test. For Harvey, who comes into this game with an ERA of 5.14, he needs to be at his very best. This was a guy who built a reputation early in his career as a big game pitcher and bulldog. The Mets need to see that Harvey tonight. With his back against the wall, a brilliant effort tonight by the Mets righty will be the best apology he can offer. Anything less will just get entice the media sharks to attack.
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