Just Mets

By no means has it been the simplest of seasons for Matt Harvey as he nears the completion of his first year back after undergoing Tommy John Surgery nearly two years ago.

He has gone through all of the trials and tribulations every major league pitcher goes through who suffers the fate of needing ligament surgery on their throwing elbow.

He has even admitted over the course of the season the process has been more difficult to surmount than he originally thought it would be.

But that’s the mind of an athlete, who’s brain says he feels good but there are simply natural limitations he has to work through and overcome.

It looks like Harvey might have finally overcome all of the barriers he has faced during this now two-year process.

He was astonishingly brilliant once again on Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing just four hits with four strikeouts in eight shutout innings for his 11th win of the season, his third win in his last four starts without a loss.

Harvey was pitching so well and his pitch count was so low (97 pitches) while relying predominantly on his fastball (he threw 53 fastballs on Tuesday night), he really wanted to stay in and try and complete the shutout.

But Harvey’s health will always be the primary concern, and Terry Collins wants to save that bullet for when he needs it.

With a 4-0 lead, he was able to pocket that bullet for a night.

“As we get down to the stretch here, there’s probably going to be more issues like that where I don’t want to come out,” Harvey said after his outing. “It is what is to get me into October.”

But he also understands what the organization is trying to do to preserve his health and stamina down the stretch of the most meaningful season in Flushing since 2008.

“If we get into September and need a game Matt Harvey pitches, he’s going to pitch it,” Collins explained. “That’s why we’ve got to make sure he’s ok to do that.”

Harvey has pitched well in starts when he has had more than five days rest. But he lacked a certain consistency when the Mets were dabbling with various forms of the six-man rotation, often appearing flat and challenged by command problems.

Now that he’s pitched in a regular routine since the All-Star break, it’s just like old times, as he appears free and easy with explosiveness, pounding the strike zone and inducing insignificant contact start-after-start.

Such was the case on Tuesday, as the Colorado hitters attempted to attack early and often, but they pounded most his stuff weakly into the ground or weakly in the air all night long.

“I don’t mind first-pitch groundouts,” Harvey said with a smile.

That helped keep his pitch count down and his presence on the mound for eight innings.

And he is enjoying being out there, especially in front of a home crowd he has come to appreciate.

“You’ve got to give it out to the fan base,” Harvey explained. “Day in, day out, it’s just fun. It’s fun being at home and playing. Doing what we’re doing at home has obviously put us where we are right now.”

Those are some appreciative words for a fan base which seemed doubtful and cynical (and forgetful of what he was going through) when Harvey was struggling in late May and early June. Some thought he was, “overrated,” “unproven,” among other things.

He has a 2.61 ERA in his first 148 innings since undergoing Tommy John Surgery, that’s proof of what he is right there. Imagine how good he will be again when he is completely recovered, and he doesn’t have to do with Tommy John’s inevitable wall for all starting pitchers?

Should this continue, Harvey should be well on-track to being the comeback player of the year. He has been remarkably good, probably even better than most might have expected he would be in 2015, all things considered.

But that’s clearly not the first award he is seeking in 2015. He, like the rest of his teammates, can smell October baseball in the heat of August.