A very different Harvey Day is a step to Matt rising again
Matt Harvey
I saw two No. 33  Matt Harvey  jerseys  and I had to make a pilgrimage to find those. This is 2018  after all  not 2013  when  Harvey  lit up the baseball sky in New York  or 2015  when  his  first return from injury was a mostly triumphant welcome-home  all the way to the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series.
In 2018   Matt Harvey  is just another pitcher about to enter  his  walk year without a surplus of statistics to make that journey palatable. There are dozens of players just like  him  in Florida and Arizona  guys who once burned brightly and now hope to rediscover that magic  somehow  under the February sun.
âWe can rely on  Matt Harvey  â Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after the Mets were done beating the Braves  6-4  before they could dash to the bus and make the two-hour slog back to Port St. Lucie.
Those six words arenât exactly what you ever thought would pass as good news for  Harvey  before the shoulder went  and before the elbow went  and before  he  spent 2017 ducking out of the way of line drives when  he  wasnât burying  his  alarm clock under  his  pillow.
But this is 2018  and this was a good day for  Harvey . There was one run allowed in two innings  two strikeouts  one walk  a bunch of pitches that hit 95 on the gun and one that hit 96. Mostly  there was a sense that for the first time in a long time   Harvey  had an idea where the ball was going. And for the first time in a long time  the ball actually arrived where  he  intended it to go.
âIâm happy with the outing â  Harvey  said. âIâm looking forward to continuing this more in the spring.â
 His  spring debut was greeted with a fair amount of cheering â but nothing at all compared to the moment a few innings later  when Tebow dug into the batterâs box as a pinch hitter (he grounded into a double play). The roars belong elsewhere now. Harvey Day  even one in the sleepy background of spring  is no longer a happening but more of a pilot episode for one of the core series on SNY: âOh  Yeah â¦â
And if you remember what that version of  Harvey  was like â and youâre a fan of the player  the team  or just baseball itself â there has to be a part of you that hopes Wednesday was the first step toward something resembling a renaissance.
There has to be a part of you that noticed just how much  Harvey  enjoyed facing Freddie Freeman  the Bravesâ brilliant first baseman  in the bottom of the first inning  one out and a man on first â and how much striking Freeman out looking on a 94-mph heater on the black gave him a noticeable jolt.
âWeâve gotten to be good friends though the years â  Harvey  said of Freeman  âand itâs always nice to be on the positive end facing him.â
He answered a dozen questions politely but dully  part of that being the Metsâ strategy to drain whenever possible whatever passes for colorful in their clubhouse. But thatâs probably the wise course for  Harvey  to take anyway.  He  wasnât a razor-sharp wit back in the day  but  he  did say a thing or three that rose to the level of interesting.
These days   he  seems committed to keeping  his  head down   his  mouth shut and  his  name off the disabled list and out of Page Six. Thereâs a lot of steps in that journey after this one. But it was a good place to start.
I saw two No. 33   [TGT]   jerseys  and I had to make a pilgrimage to find those. This is 2018  after all  not 2013  when   [TGT] lit up the baseball sky in New York  or 2015  when   [TGT]   first return from injury was a mostly triumphant welcome-home  all the way to the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series.
In 2018    [TGT] is just another pitcher about to enter   [TGT]   walk year without a surplus of statistics to make that journey palatable. There are dozens of players just like   [TGT]   in Florida and Arizona  guys who once burned brightly and now hope to rediscover that magic  somehow  under the February sun.
âWe can rely on   [TGT]   â Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after the Mets were done beating the Braves  6-4  before they could dash to the bus and make the two-hour slog back to Port St. Lucie.
Those six words arenât exactly what you ever thought would pass as good news for  Harvey  before the shoulder went  and before the elbow went  and before  he  spent 2017 ducking out of the way of line drives when  he  wasnât burying  his  alarm clock under  his  pillow.
But this is 2018  and this was a good day for  [TGT]  . There was one run allowed in two innings  two strikeouts  one walk  a bunch of pitches that hit 95 on the gun and one that hit 96. Mostly  there was a sense that for the first time in a long time    [TGT] had an idea where the ball was going. And for the first time in a long time  the ball actually arrived where   [TGT]   intended it to go.
âIâm happy with the outing â   [TGT] said. âIâm looking forward to continuing this more in the spring.â
  [TGT]   spring debut was greeted with a fair amount of cheering â but nothing at all compared to the moment a few innings later  when Tebow dug into the batterâs box as a pinch hitter (he grounded into a double play). The roars belong elsewhere now. Harvey Day  even one in the sleepy background of spring  is no longer a happening but more of a pilot episode for one of the core series on SNY: âOh  Yeah â¦â
And if you remember what that version of  [TGT] was like â and youâre a fan of the player  the team  or just baseball itself â there has to be a part of you that hopes Wednesday was the first step toward something resembling a renaissance.
There has to be a part of you that noticed just how much   [TGT] enjoyed facing Freddie Freeman  the Bravesâ brilliant first baseman  in the bottom of the first inning  one out and a man on first â and how much striking Freeman out looking on a 94-mph heater on the black gave  [TGT]  a noticeable jolt.
âWeâve gotten to be good friends though the years â   [TGT]   said of Freeman  âand itâs always nice to be on the positive end facing him.â
 [TGT]  answered a dozen questions politely but dully  part of that being the Metsâ strategy to drain whenever possible whatever passes for colorful in their clubhouse. But thatâs probably the wise course for  Harvey  to take anyway.  He  wasnât a razor-sharp wit back in the day  but  he  did say a thing or three that rose to the level of interesting.
These days   he  seems committed to keeping  his  head down   his  mouth shut and  his  name off the disabled list and out of Page Six. Thereâs a lot of steps in that journey after this one. But it was a good place to start.