Terry Collins told Matt Harvey — again — to tone down his act, with both his rehab and the media.
The manager called the injured pitcher on Thursday after it become clear the two sides were still treating his recovery from Tommy John surgery differently.
“I explained to him that I understand [his frustration], but the process is right now, you have got to understand the big picture and the big picture is 2015, so back off,” Collins said.
The manager said Harvey told him he understands, but that has happened before.
“There’s no backing down for Matt Harvey for anything,” Collins said. “I just said, ‘You’ve got to be smarter than this. And by the way, stop doing radio shows during the ball game telling everybody you’re throwing 95. It isn’t gonna help us up here.’ ”
Harvey went on ESPN Radio during Wednesday’s loss to Washington and said he was throwing in the 90s and reiterated his desire to pitch in the majors this season.
As much as Collins wants Harvey to slow — and quiet — down, he knows he ultimately can’t control the pitcher.
“Now, unless I’m standing next to him, I can’t control it,” Collins said. “You guys think I can. I can’t. It’s impossible. This guy will hire someone to throw with him.”
The Mets have already hired someone to stop him from throwing hard: rehab coordinator Jon Debus, who is based in Port St. Lucie and has helped oversee Harvey’s program.I explained to him that I understand [his frustration], but … the big picture is 2015, so back off.
- Mets manager Terry Collins
Collins said he also talked to Debus to make sure Harvey doesn’t continue to throw hard off a mound.
Still, it’s up to Harvey to make sure he’s following orders.
“He’s bound and determined to get ready and we slowed him down,” Collins said of Harvey, who has continued to press forward with his throwing program in Port St. Lucie even after Jeremy Hefner’s serious setback from the same injury.
“It frustrates him to the max,” Collins said. “He’s feeling good. When Jeremy got hurt, the first thing was, ‘You’ve got to be careful.’ Then [Wednesday] he went out and started playing catch like he was supposed to and felt so good that when he got on the mound to do his side, he just did his thing because he wants to get back here to help.”
After Wednesday’s game at Citi Field, Collins said lightheartedly that he was going to put his “head through a wall” because the team seems to be unable to get through to Harvey, and their conversation on Thursday didn’t sound much different than previous ones.
The manager, though, continued to support Harvey and knows how important the pitcher is to the team’s future.
“I’m not worried about Matt,” Collins said. “He’s gonna be fine. I know he’s gonna be fine. He’s got to go through the process. He’s not gonna pitch this year. I’m settled with that and he’s settled with that.”
For now, anyway.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got to be careful with what you’re doing and what you’re saying because you have to be here next year,’” Collins said. “ ‘We can’t have what happened to Jeremy happen to you.’ Does he get it? You’ll have to ask him. I can’t answer that for him. I just trust him that he gets it. So we’ll see.”
Again.