No Joy Of Six

“I think that with that much time off between starts, throwing once a week, I found a rhythm in the bullpen but then once I got a hitter in there and got the adrenaline going a little bit, things got out of whack. For me, after the first inning, it was a little tough, it was a battle.” –Matt Harvey

I get what Matt Harvey is saying about this six man rotation. I also get what Terry Collins says in response. Not the dopey quips about playing in Brooklyn, but about keeping his pitcher healthy. Considering what happened with Stephen Strasburg in 2012, the Mets don’t want to make the same mistake on the decreasing chance that the Mets make the postseason. The Mets are trying to build a better mousetrap here, and I get it.

But two things here: First off, let’s not get on Matt Harvey for giving an honest answer. It may be easy to label him a whiner, and Terry Collins doesn’t help that with his “he’s gotta get over it” answer. This isn’t somebody whining about fans booing. This is somebody who is trying to communicate physical and performance issues that he has. If anything, these are issues he should be communicating to his manager, which I’m sure he has.

And that leads me to the second thing, and it’s something that I believe in when it comes to all working environments and not just baseball: People need to listen. And not just a cursory “I’m going to hear what you have to say and then I’m going to shoot it down and try to soothe your ego at the same time.” There isn’t any experience like the experience on the field. If Harvey has issues dealing with this, and other pitchers have the same issues (as evidenced by the unnamed starter who said “that if the Mets were planning to use a six-man rotation this season that they should have had the pitchers preparing for it in spring training”), then it would behoove the Mets to listen. Really listen.

And understand once and for all that innings limits are kinda bogus to an extent. A ten pitch inning with a strikeout and two groundouts is not the same as a 35 pitch inning where 20 of those pitchers are thrown with the bases loaded to Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. With all the struggles that Harvey has had coming off surgery, he has had some relatively smooth games under his belt. And at 104 innings halfway through the season with the All Star Break coming up, Harvey should be fine for a three point landing on 190 innings. But if pitching every fifth day will give his innings more quality and less stress, then why not listen?

This is all uncharted territory, and everyone is in a tough spot when it comes to this one. But it would help everybody involved if the input from the people most affected by this switch was valued and not just thrown aside with a sprinkling of “get over it.” While Collins is in a tough spot, this is all part of being a manager. The good ones listen.