Matt Harvey and the Mets are a Disaster Right Now

Matt Harvey is in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and he is quickly approaching an innings limit that may or may not be written in stone. Harvey has pitched 166 1/3 innings this year and he and his agent Scott Boras claim the patron saint of ligaments, Dr. James Andrews, gave them a hard 180 innings limit for the season. That means as soon as he gets to 180 innings, whether in the playoffs or not, Harvey is supposed to shut it down. Mets GM Sandy Alderson heard a different story, though.

Just spoke with #Mets GM Alderson. Says Dr. Andrews gave him no absolute limit on Harvey, said there was no need for an absolute limit. 1/3
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 5, 2015

Alderson said Andrews talked about avoiding fatigue of season and not disrupting Harvey's rhythm if he intended to pitch in playoffs. 2/3
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 5, 2015

Alderson: "He didn't say 180 was the number. He was not categorical at all." Added Drs. Andrews, El Attrache, Altchek all disagree on limit.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 5, 2015

Three rival GMs say Dr. Andrews does not prescribe set limits post-Tommy John. "He always says to watch and go on a case by case," one says.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 5, 2015

That doesn't jibe at all with what Harvey said to reporters this afternoon concerning the rest of the season, though. Via Mets beat writer Matt Ehalt, Harvey said "I'm the type of person I never want to put the ball down. I hired Scott, my agent, and went with Dr. Andrews, my surgeon b/c I trusted them to keep my career going and keep me healthy." Harvey said Andrews told him 180 was the number and since he last maxed out at 178 innings before he got hurt, the plan was to not exceed that too much. He seems pretty set on it and will not answer any questions about the playoffs, he's only going to talk about his next start on Tuesday.

Obviously the Mets and Harvey have different interests here. The Mets, while they would prefer Harvey stay healthy for his entire career, they are also desperate for a winning team. They have fielded refuse in stirrups and cleats for years now and they can finally taste success. Harvey, also probably wants to help the Mets win now, but he also has to think about his career. If he gets hurt and can't pitch the same again, it's just another in a long line of blows to the Mets organization, but for Harvey, it's his whole life.

Predictably, everyone is losing their shit over this.

David wright has a career ending back injury rn and is playing as much as he can and that pussy harvey pulls this shit
— Stuntnonthajumbotron (@YoungWaltDizney) September 5, 2015

Matt Harvey is a pussy. Who doesn't wanna pitch in the postseason?!?!Your team is finally in playoff contention
— Roque Martinez⚾️ (@roquemartinez24) September 5, 2015

If Harvey shits it down, he is a pussy and can get the fuck off this team after complaining about being skipped/6 man rotation
— Simon Phoenix (@Tim55081) September 5, 2015

Nolan Ryan pitched 326 innings when he was 26…. fuck Matt Harvey
— Nic (@nicthehuman) September 5, 2015

Go fuck yourself Matt Harvey. You're going to earn us a lot of very good prospects after next season in a trade.
— TFC3Tweets (@TFC3Tweets) September 5, 2015

FOR SALE: Authentic Matt Harvey jersey. Antique White. Size: XL. Price: Get it the fuck out of my closet. #Mets
— #RallyRaccoon (@RobPatterson83) September 5, 2015

People are acting like its such a surprise that Matt Harvey, the Dark Knight, is kind of an asshole. i thought we all knew this??
— 6 GAMES AHEAD (@_jsports) September 5, 2015

Cue Mets v. Matt Harvey playoff game in 2016, Wilmer homers for go ahead runs, Mets win, Dark Knight becomes Joker…
— Michael Mordente (@mord134) September 5, 2015

Matt Harvey went from being the Dark Knight to the Joker in a NY minute. #toosoon?
— Amy (@iYankfan4) September 5, 2015

Dark Knight ? Matt Harvey has revealed himself to be The Joker. If he goes through with bailing on the Mets I've lost all respect.
— Mike. (@Mike2TheNyc) September 5, 2015

This is the most Mets thing of all time. They pull off a miracle turn around at the All-Star Break and everyone is feeling high on life and then—BAM!—Matt Harvey happens. Mets fans got the tiniest taste of success and the hope of a postseason run for the ages with their young guns, and now Matt Harvey is a pussy/The Joker.

For everyone saying "fuck Matt Harvey": do you know how much he is making this year? According to Spotrac.com, it's $614,000. Do you know how much he's worth? Do you know how much the Mets, the actual gutless scumbags here, have made off this guy? It's well north of a couple hundred grand, that is for sure. Maybe once teams stop using young players to subsidize the rest of their team and these guys start making salaries that approach their actual worth, players will not be so concerned about the future. But for now, the future is when they make their money. And even if that pipe dream ever does happen, Matt Harvey—who said he will always play—has every right to be concerned about his health and career.