Collins keeping his Harvey plan a secret
CINCINNATI — This time around, Terry Collins is keeping mum on his plan for Matt Harvey.
With the Mets righthander scheduled to make an abbreviated start Saturday against the Reds, the manager clammed up Friday when the topic of an innings count was broached.
“We have a plan, but things change so I’m not going to talk about it,” Collins said before the Mets routed the Reds, 125.
Harvey pitched five shutout innings against the Yankees on Sunday, but was removed at 77 pitches because of concerns about his workload in his first season following Tommy John surgery. With Harvey removed, the Yankees pounced for five runs against Hansel Robles in the sixth.
The Mets’ handling of Harvey in recent weeks has been a hotbutton topic, after the pitcher’s agent, Scott Boras, voiced concern about Harvey potentially surpassing 180 innings this season. Harvey will enter play at 176²/₃ innings.
Juan Uribe left Friday’s game in the eighth inning after aggravating a chest injury he sustained Sunday diving for a ball. Collins said he expects Uribe to be sidelined for at least the next several days.
“We’re going to have to give him some time to rest him up,” Collins said.
Ruben Tejada remained at shortstop for a third straight start because Collins said he is concerned about Wilmer Flores’ energy level.
Flores’ fatigue was evident during recent drills — infield coach Tim Teufel and hitting coach Kevin Long both thought the infielder looked “tired,” according to Collins.
“We’ll play Tejada for a few games and see if we can get Flo’s energy back,” Collins said before Tejada went 0for4 with a run scored. “His bat is such a big weapon that if he’s tired he’s not going to hit and that’s what we’ve got to make sure he does.”
Collins became tonguetied — a rarity — when he was asked what needs to be evaluated over this final weekplus of the regular season.
“I haven’t looked toward any particular thing about [postseason] rosters or who is competing for what,” Collins said. “That is a legit good question that I don’t have an answer for.”