Injuries, angst all taking a toll
YOU are a Mets fan, and maybe you are a little bit concerned after Jeurys Familia had a second straight bad one against the Dodgers, this time touched for two in the ninth in Sunday’s 4-2 defeat after the homeboys had rallied to tie in the eighth after spotting two runs to the brilliant Clayton Kershaw.
But even as the closer’s issues are surely temporary, you are holding your breath as the Mets await results on David Wright’s latest physical issue or on Matt Harvey’s next start, each of which come Monday.
Which causes you the greatest angst?
Wright missed his second straight game, sidelined by a neck issue for which he is taking anti-inflammatory medication. The Mets expect to know more on Monday about his immediate future after the captain is reexamined by physicians, but it is at this moment impossible to know whether this latest setback represents nothing more than a speed bump for Wright or whether it carries more serious implications.
It is also impossible to know what to expect from the beleaguered Harvey when he takes the mound against the White Sox at Citi Field. Not even his manager has a clue.
“Huh … [long pause] … that’s a good question,” is the way Terry Collins responded to the inquiry about what he expects from the one-time civic darling who has been battered for 27 hits and 19 runs (16 earned) in 13 ¹/3 innings over his last three starts to fall to 3-7 with a ghastly 6.08 ERA. “I’m hoping that he goes out and pitches like he knows how.”
The whole world has wondered at different times whether Harvey is suffering from a fatigued arm after his 2015 workload of 216 innings a year after returning from Tommy John surgery.
But the reality is that we’re all suffering from Harvey Fatigue. The melodrama that surrounds him consistently sucks the air out of the room. Is this an individual the Mets can actually depend on as they attempt to defend the NL championship?
“I think, you know what, we’re just going to ring the rag dry here,” Collins said when asked if Monday might be a make or break start for the one-time wunderkind.
The question applies to Wright as well but in an entirely different context. Few athletes in this town are or have been as worthy of universal admiration as this 32year-old, whose conduct on and off the field have been beyond reproach from the moment he arrived in Queens in July 2004.
Or, as Collins said, “He’s the best … he’s the best.”
But after missing most of last season while sidelined with spinal stenosis, and after a couple of months through which Wright endures a two-hour pregame routine in order to get himself onto the diamond, he’s down again. He is down and he is discouraged. Of course he is.
“It’s been hard; I’m not lying,” said Collins, who conversed over the phone with his captain on Sunday morning. “It’s been hard for him, too.
“He knows how important he is, especially with how he’s been swinging lately.”
How he was swinging lately was to produce a home run in each of his last three games, including a trademark blow struck to right-center in Friday’s victory over the Dodgers after a string of distressful performances. The overall numbers are ugly — .226 with seven homers and 14 RBI in 137 ups — but Wright provides a presence and a threat in the order that isn’t exactly overflowing with them.
’Fess up, folks. A couple of weeks ago you probably were asking what the Mets were going to do with Wright. Now, the question is what the Mets — already diminished due to the longterm absences of Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud — would do without Wright if the third baseman is indeed down for any substantial period. Wilmer Flores, who was at third on Sunday, is supposed to be the right-handed half of the first-base platoon with James Loney. The Mets will learn more about Harvey on Monday when he takes the ball and they will also learn more about Wright after he’s examined by medical people. While awaiting answers on each, which concerns you most?
And on which player can the Mets least afford a Prognosis Negative?