The Mets announced Tuesday that Matt Harvey underwent successful surgery to replace the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, He’s still supposed to miss all of the 2014 season.
I wish Harvey a full recovery, and I hope to see him pitch for the Mets again in 2015. But I think it’s time for us to forget about him until 2015, and to treat him more or less like a rookie when he does return – it’s certainly not going to be fair to dump all of this “Harvey Day” hype on a guy who will have had almost a year and a half off when he does finally return.
Tim Lincecum must enjoy San Francisco. Sure, he’s going to make a lot of money over the next two years, but given the market this off-season, there’s a great chance he could have made a ridiculous amount of money if he tested the free agent market. (And given the state of the market, I think it’s safe to assume that Sandy Alderson will be sifting through free agents of the Shaun Marcum level if he tries to acquire a veteran starting pitcher to bolster his rotation.)
Finally, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is offering you a chance to win a Boston Red Sox jersey signed by David Ortiz if you like their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute, November 1st is the deadline to enter. Official rules are available online at http://tinyurl.com/9nomakp.
PaulHadsall.com 
Lincecum has been pretty awful for the past two years, so even if he did become available, I’d be happy to see the Mets pass on him. Having said that, if the Mets go into Spring Training next year without having made a single significant off-season acquisition one way or another, you might as well leave the lights off at Citi Field next year, because no one will be coming out to see them play.
LikeLike
Lincecum has not gotten good results, but he’s still a strikeout pitcher and his advanced stats look better than his ERA. I don’t think the Giants made a bad move here.
I was not expecting Lincecum to pitch for the Mets, but if he’s getting $17 million next year and A.J. Burnett and Matt Garza are at the top of the list of starting pitchers who will see free agency, I don’t expect Alderson will be able or willing to meet their market value.
I’m very curious about how the off-season plays out. If the Opening Day lineup in 2014 looks like it did for game #162 last month, I’ll still want to go. But after I soak up the Opening Day atmosphere and wander around the Mets Museum to see the new exhibits, I won’t have much reason to think about going back to the ballpark.
LikeLike
Well, of course, it’s the Giants money, and they can spend it however they wish. But with an ERA+ of just 76, and a K rate that’s been in steady decline for six years, I’d say he’s not exactly a bargain at 17 mill. Alderson may choose to pass on the probably overpriced free agent pitchers, which is fine, but he can’t be allowed to use that as an excuse to do nothing significant in the off-season. The fact that the White Sox landed Cuban phenom hitter Abreu, while the Mets just predictably stood by and watched, is not a good omen going into 2014. Fans will come out for Opening Day, but like you, will they still be showing up in mid-season to watch yet another 75-win team?
LikeLike