Larry Rooney
As the New York Mets series against the Colorado Rockies got started Friday night, the only thing on Mets fans’ minds was Matt Harvey. The team has just announced that SP Matt Harvey’s next start, originally this Sunday in Colorado, will be skipped in favor of minor league pitcher Logan Verrett. The team is desperately looking to save Harvey’s arm for the 2015 MLB Playoffs, but more importantly the future, as he is roughly two years removed from Tommy John Surgery.
Tommy John Surgery is the baseball equivalent of the flu; pitchers for every team are being plagued by this epidemic. Approximately 25% of MLB pitchers have suffered UCL tears requiring the surgery, and about 15% of minor league pitchers have experienced the same fate. So it’s no shocker that on October 22, 2013, Matt Harvey, too, had the procedure (Keri).
Mets fans everywhere were stunned and distraught by this news. However, for the most part, baseball and the medical society were not shocked. In a Grantland.com interview with arm specialist, Dr. Glenn Fleisig writer Jonah Keri touches on a couple of interesting points. Fleisig responds to a question about why Tommy John Surgery has become so prominent now by saying:
These Matt Harveys, Jose Fernandezes — this is the first generation that’s the year-round one-sport generation. So today’s young pro pitcher shows up with more damage in his ligaments and tendons because he didn’t play multiple sports. He just pitched, and he’s been getting little, microscopic, undetected injuries. Once he becomes a pro, it’s already slightly torn(Keri).Players are no longer dual-sported or tri-sported, they are trained to fixate on one sport and do their best to master that sport, which has led to an influx of players needing TJ surgery. Later on in the interview, Fleisig is asked if the true cause of this injury is strictly overuse:
Right. We found out that the ones who had surgery tended to be the ones who would throw more than 80 pitches in a game, the ones who pitched more than eight months per year. Again, this was 15- to 20-year-old kids. The pitchers who have surgery were almost always the ones who kept pitching when they were fatigued.After hearing this from a leading arm specialist, it is reasonable to believe and understand why teams would be cautious with their big name young studs like Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard.
The basic problem is that too much pitching leads to injuries. People ask me all the time, “Is pitching natural?” I would say that excessive pitching, throwing 100 full-effort pitches every fifth day, is not natural(Keri).
So then why are New York Mets fans ready to jump ship after hearing manager Terry Collins has decided to skip Harvey’s next start? Should Mets fans be mad that the team isn’t throwing their best arms out there each and every night in the middle of a pennant race? I’m here to tell you fans NO.
The Mets organization is handling the situation with their young arms very well. The team is justified in skipping starts for both Harvey and stud Noah Syndergaard. The Mets will skip both Harvey and Syndergaard multiple times in September to preserve innings for the future and potentially the playoffs.
It’s no secret, the Mets have been awful for years now, but this season has shown a light on this team with the success of second year pitchers Jacob DeGrom and Matt Harvey and first year pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. The organization and its fan base have gotten a sneak peak at what could be for years to come; the team can honestly say that they have a legitimate four-way race for the title of “ace”, while DeGrom has all but cemented himself in this role for at least this season.
But, in order to reach this success, the team must make some sacrifices, one of which being innings limits for the younger, more at risk pitchers. Harvey’s surgery two years ago was very serious and has taken a toll on his body, he needs to be mindful of the stress he’s putting on his surgically repaired UCL every fifth day. He should not be expected to pitch 250+ innings(including playoffs) after coming off a year of straight rehabilitation. Mets fans don’t need to look far to see instances of overworking an ace, remember Johan Santana and his rotator cuff? Look at your division rival, the Washington Nationals’ Steven Strasburg just hasn’t been the same since returning from TJ surgery. Once a highly touted prospect turned solid 3rd or 4th turn starter, he is left in mediocrity due to an inability to remain healthy and an inability to return to his old level of pitching. Mets fans have been blessed to see an extremely positive reaction to Harvey’s surgery. Harvey has arguably been better in terms of stuff since coming back from his surgery. Harvey’s breaking balls and secondary pitches have been very impressive and much improved since returning.
While I can understand the frustration of the fan base, it is not worth mortgaging the future for a couple of starts in late August and early-mid September, regardless of pennant race or not. Not to mention, the team is skipping a Harvey start in Colorado where it is extremely difficult for pitchers, and perhaps one of the toughest jobs in baseball. Yahoo Sports did a series on the toughest jobs in sports and pitching at Coors Field was listed third. Just yesterday, the New York Mets won a shootout in Colorado 14-9 to take Game 1 of the series. Needless to say, there’s no reason to subject Matt Harvey to this type of stress when you can easily rest him to preserve his innings.
While Syndergaard’s case is much different than Harvey’s, I understand the caution with the young flamethrower. Syndergaard is compiling an impressive rookie showcase, which has quieted all the doubters calling to trade him for a bat. He, however, has been a tale of two halves. Syndergaard has impressed fans while pitching in Citi Field but has been lack luster while pitching away from home.
| Record | IP | ERA | SO | Walks | Hits | WHIP | Avg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | (7-1) | 64.1 | 1.82 | 65 | 8 | 44 | 0.81 | 0.194 |
| Road | (o-5) | 46.1 | 5.05 | 52 | 18 | 56 | 1.61 | 0.293 |
Would it be such a bad thing for the Mets to skip a road start or two of his? No, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing especially if it is to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoffs and the future. Not to mention, Syndergaard has never pitched more than 133 innings, a number he is quickly approaching already.
Ultimately, the Mets front office and managerial staff are right to be resting their starters regardless of their pennant race. The team is much better off preparing for the years to come rather than the present. The team just isn’t equipped with a good enough offense to make a World Series run this season, but that isn’t to say that in the years to come they won’t have the necessary offense to be a true title contender. Regardless of winning the division or not winning the division this season, the New York Mets have had a very successful and productive season.
I do, however, still stand by my choice for the Mets to represent the NL East in the 2015 MLB Playoffs from my previous article breaking down the MLB Playoff Picture. Despite the pitching restraints and limits on this staff, I have full faith that the New York Mets will make this year’s playoffs.
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Resources:
Keri, Jonah. "The Tommy John Epidemic: What's Behind the Rapid Increase of Pitchers Undergoing Elbow Surgery?" Grantland. N.p., 10 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Aug. 2015. <http://grantland.com/the-triangle/tommy-john-epidemic-elbow-surgery-glenn-fleisig-yu-darvish/>.
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