Matt Harvey is finding more ways to lose on and off the field.
The Mets right-hander served up three home runs to the Nationals on Tuesday night, the last a back-breaking two-run shot by Daniel Murphy in the fifth inning. He took the loss in a 7-4 Nats victory.
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Afterward, Harvey chose not to speak with the media. Ummmm . . .
Now, a lot of fans don't care. They don't want to hear Harvey recite the same old lines: He has no idea why he's so bad (3-7, 6.08 ERA), he won't quit, he'll keep working on a solution, etc. That's about all you'd get in a postgame interview, anyway. To many of them, the concept of Harvey being "accountable" and a "stand-up guy" is just a stupid baseball thing.
It's not a stupid thing to his teammates, though. They expect him to have those qualities. When he doesn't stick around, you get this:
Boy. Kevin Plawecki really didnt seem keen on answering questions on behalf of Harvey tonight. Clearly not happy about dealing with it.
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 25, 2016
When Harvey bails, it's not just a bad look, it falls on teammates like Plawecki to answer for him. It doesn't go unnoticed in clubhouse.
— John Harper (@NYDNHarper) May 25, 2016
That's the guy who caught Harvey's pitches Tuesday. He doesn't even have a full year in the majors. If he's miffed, then the veterans in the clubhouse surely aren't amused.
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The Twitter responses were mostly typical: It's the media's fault for asking questions; they're playing "gotcha" with a young guy; Plawecki should answer for his lousy hitting and throwing. And, since fans know everything anyway, of course they're right. Can't tell 'em it's a bad look to Harvey's co-workers. Can't tell 'em they wouldn't know anything without the media digging into the team's inner workings. Can't tell 'em they actually love it when stuff like this happens, because then they can break out the snark and the cynicism and the sanctimony.
It was written in this space last week that Harvey's season is increasingly looking lost. Another bad start, and the continued threat of being skipped in the rotation, means the narrative isn't going away.
Harvey will probably answer questions Wednesday and claim frustration as the reason he blew off the media. The rest of the Mets will then go back to work. The tabloids can paste together another back page and the news cycle can continue to spin.
And the fans can mock everything and everyone again after they read the headlines and tweets. The articles? Don't get your hopes up.
