Stick with me, Mets fans. I promise I am going to get to your team and Matt Harvey. But, first, a detour to the dynasty Yankees.
Or, more aptly, how those Joe Torre Yankees became a dynasty. There are plenty of theories, and the one you will hear most often involves George Steinbrenner’s wallet.
But I believe what fueled that run more than anything was Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera arriving fully formed.
Pettitte was a high-level starter from the instant he went into the rotation in 1995. Jeter was a star shortstop from the moment he became the starter in 1996. And once Rivera was put into the bullpen full-time in the 1995 playoffs, he began being the best ever at that.
The Yankees injected two no-doubt Hall of Famers and a borderline guy who were those kind of players on Day 1 and Day 5 and Year 1 and Year 5, etc. It provided a cornerstone from which all else could be built.
“You put a few of those out there and then you are just looking for pieces, and obviously it is easier to find pieces than those guys,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Collins never had one of “those guys” in his time managing the Astros and Angels. But he might have one now. This is why Harvey’s importance transcends just his electrifying starts and how he can turn Citi Field — a ghost town too often in its four-plus years — into the center of the baseball world when he is on the mound.
It is just 14 starts for Harvey, but 14 starts without growing pains.
I keep waiting for the league to adapt and force Harvey to show — mentally and strategically — how he will handle taking a punch. But that has not come yet. He obviously will endure a clunker eventually — even the greatest of all time do. But it is possible to believe he showed up an ace and is going to remain that way.
And if you want to understand how that can speed up contention, then the proof was in the dugout across from Collins. For Davey Johnson might go to the Hall of Fame by capitalizing on being in the right place at the right time.
He took over the Mets in 1984 shortly after Darryl Strawberry broke in as a star and just in time for Dwight Gooden. Again, we can get into many reasons why the Mets had the best sustained run in franchise history from 1984-88, but it began with having two supreme talents shine from Day 1.
Now, as Washington’s skipper, Johnson took over shortly after Stephen Strasburg broke in and in time for Bryce Harper’s elevation. Strasburg had a Tommy John surgery timeout, but he and Harper were instant elites.
Suddenly, the franchise had 98 wins last year, reached the playoffs for the first time since 1981 and has the look of a team that can dominate the NL for a while.
Harper hit two massive homers yesterday as the Nationals capitalized on the Mets’ pitching DAHS — Day After Harvey Syndrome — to win 7-6.
“They key is maturity,” Johnson said. “It is a big thing. Are you up for the challenge? If you are, then it is time to find out if you will express your talent.”
Harvey has done that. Collins has been pleased and appreciative of how determined Harvey is to excel, not to accept or be defined by inadequacy around him.
The comparison to Tom Seaver has been made. Seaver was brilliant in his 1967 rookie campaign and the Mets defied their pedigree on the days he pitched, but still had such overall flaws to lose 101 games.
But Seaver was an ace from Day 1, putting a building block in place that led directly to the 1969 title.
The Mets can dream Harvey is establishing the same foothold. The hope was Travis d’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler would follow close behind and create the kind of critical mass of instant talent that would abracadabra the Mets from gnats to Nats. But d’Arnaud has broken his foot and Wheeler has not pitched well early in Triple-A.
Both facts are disturbing, for d’Arnaud might be injury prone — having already missed big minor league time with back and knee ailments — while Wheeler has failed to seize an overt opportunity. Had he put together a few good starts to open this year, he would have put huge pressure on the Mets brass to bring him to New York, what with the injuries to Johan Santana and Shaun Marcum.
So, for now, Harvey is the show and the grand concept for the Mets; the hope he will remain what he is now, an ace from Day 1, a cornerstone to accelerate the construction of a long-running contender.