We live in a time when it is easy to believe in the infallibility of doctors. Every day, something happens in medicine that amazes us. People who would’ve been bound to a wheelchair 10 years ago walk out the front door of a hospital. A cancer that would’ve killed someone five years ago is pushed into remission.
I had some heart difficulties a few years ago, and the doctor fixed me up and sent me on my way within 36 hours. I asked him, half-jokingly (but half-seriously), why I shouldn’t just come in for a tune-up every few months, get a stent here, a bypass there, taking advantage of the generosities of modern science.
“Because I’m good,” he said. “But I’m not perfect.”
And that’s what’s simple to forget now, as Matt Harvey opts to buy time, still hoping to avoid surgery, still hoping not to flush 2014 away, still dreaming of Opening Day. Harvey visited with Dr. James Andrews on Monday, and on Tuesday decided he’ll try rehabbing his arm, try a throwing program in a month or two, and then re-evaluate.
Ever since the MRI results revealed the partial tear in Harvey’s elbow last month, there’s been a growing momentum among Mets faithful hoping Harvey will simply stand down, stop seeking alternate opinions and simply present his arm for Tommy John surgery. The thinking is understandable: sacrifice ’14, get this done, come back for 2015 with a freshly repaired elbow that everyone says is even stronger after surgery than it was before.
The stats say 90 percent of Tommy John surgery is successful, after all.
But 90 percent isn’t 100 percent.
Isn’t perfect.
And if it was my arm, I certainly wouldn’t simply ignore that other 10 percent. This isn’t about ego or the reckless invulnerability of youth, or Harvey succumbing to the same stubborn streak that allowed him to attain success so early in the game. If you want to play the woe-is-me Mets fan and assume this is simply part of a Great Plan to forever sabotage the team, that’s your right, though it seems a rather silly misallocation of your time and energy.
Here is something to consider: You may not trust the Mets an ounce – and that’s your right, too. You may look at the rash of injuries the Mets have endured since 2009 and decide the team’s medical staff isn’t worth the paper their diplomas are printed on. Also your right.
But believe this: Harvey is now being advised by two men who reside at the very top of their professions. One, Dr. Andrews, is universally acknowledged as the man you go to see if your arm needs fixing; if Harvey were making a grievous mistake, Andrews certainly would have warned him off it.
And even if Harvey wouldn’t have listened, you can believe his other prime asset, Scott Boras, would have. You can say whatever you like about Boras, but whatever negatives you bring to the debate, you must also say this: He is the Dr. James Andrews of the mega-dollar deal.
And if there was even a one percent chance an impetuous Harvey wanted to ignore both Andrews and common sense, you had better believe Boras would lay down in front of Harvey’s car before letting him fritter away tens of millions – if not hundreds of millions – of potential future earnings.
So there is that.
And there is this: It is still Harvey’s arm. You can cite examples all day long, guys who had the surgery and thrived, those who waited and got burned, those who did nothing and are still pitching … and the unlucky 10 percent who still can’t lift their arms over their heads, still can’t comb their hair properly and can barely roll a bowling ball, let alone unleash a baseball.
There’s still time for Harvey to make Opening Day 2015 even if the rehab doesn’t work. Then, if the surgery’s necessary, you roll the dice with the odds in your favor. The men who perform these surgeries are the very best in the world, after all.
But they aren’t perfect.