Is Matt Harvey’s history making Major League debut for New York Mets sustainable? - Part 2
There have appeared many pitchers with the talent unseen before and yet they failed to make something big out of it. It was because they were mentally weak as their focus could easily be derailed by a rough-up in one or two games.
They lacked the ability of coming back and hunting for results. Their situation was like, if in one game they perform better, their confidence will rise exponentially. However, as soon as they have one poor game, the whole prestige of being a quality hurler
shatters like the breaking of a house of glass.
Harvey has had ups and downs at the Minor League level. He has more often than not come through successfully out of them. All the way from the single A to the triple A category, he has endured the miseries of being the conspicuous scapegoats after the games
as well as enjoying the privilege of being the star with praises being showered from all sides on him.
There came a time when Harvey embarked on the path of decline in the Minor Leagues. As he posted an ERA 4.53 while being with the Double-A Binghamton Mets, which was uncharacteristic of what he had done before as a starter, the criticism grew at him. That
was the time when he had to pull his way out of the jinx and assert the forte he actually boasts.
He got through as his record afterwards can speak volumes of how he restored the confidence of the management in him.
No wonder, the front office kept him as part of their contingency plans in the season and had Harvey in mind for launching a last resort type of attack this year.
What has unveiled as the most dominant feature of Harvey as a starter, according to the scouts report, is the way the fastballs he throw clock the late 90s on a regular basis.
Such a characteristic of a pitcher if not putting him in line with the legends of the game, then certainly lends Harvey the distinction of drawing strike-outs at will.
What saves the Washington Nationals’ ace Stephen Strasburg under jam situations is the way he resorts to throwing powerful fastballs whenever he smells the danger of being roughed up. Similarly, Harvey can use this to his advantage in the years to come.
However, throwing fastballs come with the danger of being prone to injuries, in particular the shoulder issues. Although thus far the journey for Harvey has been fairly safe with hardly any severe injury suffered as yet, one cannot rule out what can be in
for him ahead.
This calls for the need to observe care and caution by the management in using him. Imposing innings pitched limit in a game or in the entire season can be one of the options.
Instead of weakening his arms after going through an injury and it’s after effects, proper attention can be accorded to him beforehand. This way the glare of his forte will remain intact and he can help the club in a better way.
The team officials cannot afford to turn a blind eye on Harvey. He does not belong to the ordinary lot that sees his career fading away just like a passing cloud on the sky after making a debut.
Therefore, in order to squeeze the best out of Harvey, the role of management is going to be as important as that of the pitcher himself.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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