MLB: Matt Harvey is no one's hero

(Photo Credit: Arturo Pardavila III)

When you think of a hero, you think of the guy who will jump on the grenade. You think of the individual who will take one for the team, put the needs of others before their own. Though Matt Harvey may have been dubbed the "Dark Knight of Gotham" many years ago, he's been anything but a savior to New York, or his Mets team. 

It's no surprise that Harvey has been trending downward. According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Harvey has given up 10 extra base hits in his last 16 innings, an atrocious number on its own. The only difference is, in those last few starts, the Mets were able to dig themselves back out of their Harvey hole. Last night, they weren't so lucky and, at the same time, they shouldn't have to. While the team as a whole has been a huge surprise offensively, they can't be counted on to clean up a Harvey mess in every single one of his outings.  

Harvey gave up eight hits and six runs to a team that the Mets should have been able to defeat, the Atlanta Braves, in a 12-4 clubbing. The rest of the Mets' fan base has stopped making excuses for his performance but Harvey's clearly not done making them for himself, and that was the worst part of it all. 

See yourself become the villain

Harvey's stepped in it plenty of times since starting his major league career. Each time, it seemed a little more forgivable when he was able to bounce back. But his post-game interview last night was not of a man willing to admit his mistakes. Instead, we got a puffed up egomaniac version of Harvey. 

"I'm a starting pitcher, "I've always been a starting pitcher. That's my mindset."

That may be Harvey's mindset, but it certainly isn't manager Mickey Callaway's, who was quoted in the same ESPN article saying:

"We haven't made that determination yet..."We'll see moving forward. I'm not sure what we're going to do."

Which is at the very least comforting to know someone is keeping Harvey in check this time around. I couldn't see Terry Collins taking the same approach to that situation. 

New York is over it

I wish I could say any of this surprised me about Harvey, or that he'll redeem himself, but I can't. Sadly, this is just the guy he is. He's always been this guy, it was just easier to look past this ego trip when it seemed fitting because he was hitting 98 miles per hour on the radar gun. 

The chemistry in the Mets clubhouse seems fantastic right now, and a true "hero" or even a team player would want to do everything they can to keep that energy positive and moving in the right direction. He should want to help the team increase its numbers in the win column any way he can. 

But that's just not Matt Harvey. Matt Harvey only cares about himself, what his payday will look like (which at this point, I'd say it's non-existent), and try too hard to get back to being the "star" of this New York team. Well, Mr. Harvey, I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you, Gotham is over it. 

[zombify_post]