KNIGHT FEVER
Harvey amped for return to Citi mound
Following a productive spring training and more importantly, six innings of dominance in his first real performance after Tommy John surgery, Matt Harvey feels he is right where hewants to be.
And on Tuesday, Harvey will be right where the Mets’ organization and so many hopeful, optimistic, praying for better times fans want him to be.
On the mound at Citi Field facing a division opponent.
“Everything through spring training has been right where I want it to,” Harvey said before the Mets’ 20 homeopening victory Monday against the Phillies. “I’m pretty thrilled with how everything is feeling and how things are going.”
If he’s thrilled, Mets fans and team brass are ecstatic. After all, in his first start of the regular season — and his first since Aug. 24, 2013 — Harvey threw six shutout innings, struck out nine, allowed four hits and one walk. But he just shrugged.
“Just [ want] to be a little more fine,” Harvey said. “For me, 90 pitches through six innings is not good enough. If I’m throwing 90 pitches, I’d like to get at least into the seventh. So [ Tuesday] definitely early attacking, a little bit more, a little bit better, a little more fine and try to get us later in the ballgame.”
Perfectionist. Harvey probably trashed the Mona Lisa for lacking a toothy smile. But if Harvey, whose fastball velocity consistently was around 9597 mph during his first start in Washington, wants to improve on darn good, no one is complaining.
For manager Terry Collins, the returns of Harvey and David Wright to good health are part of a Mets makeover that promises to renew interest and heighten expectations in Queens. And Collins is fine with all that.
“That why I said what I did last fall: ‘ It’s time.’ You should be expected to win,” said Collins, who watched Harvey dominate in the spring before beating the Nats. “My biggest day to see Matt Harvey pitch was the first game he pitched in spring training because I knew hewas going to ramp it up.” Like he might do Tuesday. “For our fan base it’s going to be a huge day, because they’ve been waiting a long time to see him,” Collins said. “We saw the response when he pitched in Washington. We outnumbered the Nationals’ fans.
“It’s about making sure this guy goes out there 30 times. So we will monitor his workload and pitch counts and everything else that’s involved in keeping him fresh. I know he’s excited. The team’s excited and I knowthe fans are excited.” A home opening win can do that. “It’s good to get this one out of the way and now we have the big boy tomorrow,” Collins said after Monday’s win.
While Harvey admits he is pumped for his first home start of the season, it will lack that added amp because, well, it is his second start.
“After the first one is over with, you can kind of get into the swing of the fiveday rotation, watching the other guys throw,” Harvey said. “Your home crowd is always behind you. For me they’ve been great, always been extremely supportive and very uplifting.
“We’re ready for it. We all have that in our minds,” he said of the expectations. “Once we got to spring training we knew we wanted to win and bring a championship, obviously, back to Queens.”