FLAW AND DISORDER
AFTER Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria crushed a 1-0 pitch from Mets starter Adam Wilk into the left-field seats, a cluster of fans at Citi Field started to boo. By then, the Marlins had a 5-0 fourth-inning lead en route to a 7-0 victory, and while it was the third home run offered by Wilk, the target of the boos should have been Matt Harvey.
Blame Harvey for the absurdity and dysfunction that took place in Flushing on Sunday afternoon, when Wilk was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas and made his first major league start in five years on three hours’ sleep.
“That’s a pretty tough situation to put him in, but that’s what we had to do,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
It was a tough situation for the rest of the Mets, too. They came to the ballpark thinking Harvey would make his scheduled start and give them a good chance of earning a fourth straight win and a sweep of the Marlins. Instead, they learned the right-hander had been suspended for three days for violating team rules, forcing the Mets to call up Wilk, who last started a major league game in 2012 for the Tigers.
The Mets insisted Harvey’s suspension wasn’t the reason for their poor performance Sunday, but they played as if they were hit by an early sucker punch and never recovered. Jose Urena, who was making his first start of the season for the Marlins after five relief appearances, made easy work of the Mets, who got their only hit in the sixth inning when catcher Rene Rivera lifted a single into short left field.
Otherwise, the Mets were lifeless, especially after Wilk served up a three-run homer to Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the first inning. Collins admitted his team may have been shaken by the stunning news of Harvey’s suspension.
“It takes a little steam away,” he said. “Guys lost focus a little bit.”
It’s hard to blame Wilk, who deserves applause for simply making it to the game after his travel odyssey. He arrived in New York at 8:45 a.m. Sunday after spending the previous 24 hours traveling from Las Vegas to Denver and then to Albuquerque for a Triple-A game only to be told to get to New York. He then flew from Albuquerque to Los Angeles then took the red-eye across the country to New York, where he headed straight to the ballpark.
“I’ve spent more time in the air than on the ground,” said Wilk, who allowed eight hits, five earned runs and three homers in 3 2/3 innings.
The drama surrounding Harvey comes when the Mets looked like they were building some momentum after three straight wins. Now they look like a team ready to implode. The Mets and Harvey are clearly at odds with Harvey, according to one report, likely to contest being suspended without pay. It has put the rest of the team in the awkward position of defending a teammate while recognizing the importance of following team rules.
“We’re counting on him,” Jose Reyes said. “He’s a big piece of the ball club. It’s disappointing.”
The last thing this team needed was self-inflicted wounds. Harvey’s issues have created more distraction during a week when starter Noah Syndergaard was lost for two to three months with a torn lat after refusing to undergo an MRI exam. A thumb injury suffered Saturday by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera didn’t help anyone’s mood either.
General manager Sandy Alderson on Sunday looked like someone frustrated with the current fortunes of his club, refusing to offer any insight into what prompted Harvey’s suspension. Collins, who has been known to support his players to a fault, also seemed disgusted.
“We have rules that weren’t adhered to, and we took a stance,” Collins said. “Hopefully we can move forward.”
It’s hard to move forward when you keep taking two steps back.