The words were said with the calmness that has become as much of a trademark of Matt Harvey as his 89-mph slider. His point was precise.
“We’re starting to play really well,’’ Harvey told The Post this past week that featured a four-game Subway Series sweep of the Yankees by his Mets.
“Our pitching is coming around,’’ he noted. “Everything is starting to click right now. I think we are a force to be reckoned with.’’
Mets fans have been waiting for those words for quite some time — “a force to be reckoned with.’’
The fact they were spoken by Harvey, who has become the leader of the Mets pitching staff, made the comment even more impressive. Harvey is never afraid to set the goal high; not only for himself, but for his team as well.
Before the start of spring training, manager Terry Collins said if Harvey pitches 200 innings, he could post 17 wins. When that comment was relayed to Harvey, his response said it all: “I’d like to add three to that. That’s where my head is always going to be at. 20-plus is what I’m going to strive for every year.’’
Matt Harvey is not to be taken lightly.
Harvey pitches against the young Marlins today at Marlins Park. He takes a 5-0 record and a 1.85 ERA to the mound. The Mets are 8-3 in his starts even though they haven’t scored many runs while he is on the mound.
His father Ed, a tremendously successful baseball coach, said early in the 2011 season when Matt was pitching for Class A St. Lucie that his son “has the mental toughness you never have to worry about.’’
That statement was spot on. There’s much more.
Harvey was a freshman and his dad was his coach at Fitch High School in Groton, Conn., when they were playing senior-laden powerhouse Norwich Free Academy. Harvey had the freshest arm on the team so he was named to pitch that day. Before the game, his dad asked: “You OK with this?’’
The freshman looked his father in the eye and said, “Don’t ever ask that question again.’’
Harvey pitched a complete-game victory that day and hasn’t stopped shutting down opponents since. No one was happier for Dillon Gee after his sparkling win over the Yankees for the Subway Series sweep at Yankee Stadium on Thursday than Harvey.
“That was an amazing performance and the start of great things for him this season,’’ Harvey said.
The right-hander has established a certain way of going about his business the rest of the Mets starters are emulating — even going so far as to check out his bullpen sessions to see how Harvey does it.
“They see what Matt is doing and the way he works,’’ Collins said, “and they say, ‘I can do that.’ They don’t have that stuff, but they can take that approach, they can throw strikes and get ahead of the hitters, they can have success.’’
And boy did Mets pitchers find success this week.
In the final three games against the Yankees, Mets pitchers did not walk a batter, tying a franchise record. Gee became the third Mets pitcher this season to strike out at least a dozen hitters and have no walks in a game. Harvey started the trend May 7 against the White Sox and Shaun Marcum followed up against the Braves last Sunday.
In his last start, Harvey fanned 10 Yankees on Tuesday, his third double-digit strikeout game this season. Those three double-digit strikeout games are the most in the NL and Harvey already has five games with 10 or more strikeouts in his first 21 career starts.
The only Mets pitcher in history with more of such outings in his first 21 games was Dwight Gooden, who had eight.
Harvey hates to lose. He is all about winning. It will not be long before Zack Wheeler joins this staff and can follow along as well.
“I think we are a force to be reckoned with.’’
Indeed, with Matt Harvey leading the way.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com