Kuzul

We made it. The end is here, and all that remains is the ever-entertaining postseason that never disappoints with its drama and intrigue.

Major League Baseball’s marathon season comes to an end Sunday. It has given us plenty of feel-good, fluffy stories as well as its fair share of controversy and ugliness. And both types were present right up until the end—the Minnesota Twins were the nice storyline, and Jonathan Papelbon gave us the despicable.

With a couple of days until the official postseason starts on Tuesday, most of the talk will be looking forward into October and how the rest of the month might play out. For now, tough, it is time to take a look back at the regular season’s biggest storylines.

Not all of them will make it, but the ones you’re about to read are all significant and helped shape the last six months. So, before we get into the best part of the baseball season, here are the events and happenings that got us here.

Begin Slideshow

Buckle up, fans of the New York Mets. Your team is about to take you on a World Series ride.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not this year. Not this group. Not this manager. Anybody who tells you that he predicted back in March that the 2015 Mets would win the National League East is probably lying to your face. Even supposed Mets “homers” weren’t allowing themselves to get caught up in any hype at the end of last winter.

These are not the ’06 Mets. That team was undeniably the best in the division. Those Mets should have won Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. Those Mets would have won the World Series against any American League opponent from that year. Those Mets should have been the start of a dynasty.

The Mets from this past spring were never supposed to catch up with the Washington Nationals before the fall months. While the Nationals were the uncrowned division champions at the start of the Major League Baseball season, the Mets were about to go through a campaign that would largely be about the team making a decision on the fate of manager Terry Collins. Heck, even general manager Sandy Alderson was, in the eyes of some fans, on the hot seat six months ago.

That seems like a different lifetime ago.

Fate has smiled upon the Mets over the past two months in a way that has, in the past, been experienced by the other New York baseball team. In some alternate universe, the trade of Wilmer Flores for Carlos Gomez goes through on the night of July 29. Gomez is damaged goods when he arrives to the Mets, the clubhouse is deflated by the trade of Flores and the Mets crumble apart as the Nationals ascend to the top of the division standings.

That didn’t happen. Disaster did not strike the Mets this time around. The death of the Gomez deal opened up the possibility of the Mets acquiring outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, and the team pulled the trigger on that trade before the July deadline. Cespedes has been a revelation of a rental player, helping convert the Mets from a postseason contender to a team that could legitimately win a World Series.

How great has Cespedes been in orange and blue? He would, in a fair world, be a Most Valuable Player candidate even though he has only been with the Mets for a third of the season. Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post mentioned this very fact in a piece that was published on September 10:

Of course, in the 36 games since joining the Mets, he has an absurd .675 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.032 with 14 homers and 36 RBIs. He is not a perfect player by any stretch, swinging at too many fastballs in his eyes, overrunning that ball in the outfield the other night. But the Mets have won 25 of those games. They have gone from down two to up seven on the Nationals after Wednesday night’s sweep-finishing victory at Nationals Park.

His value is inarguable.

Cespedes has, in 53 appearances for the Mets (h/t ESPN), hit 17 home runs. He has driven in 44 RBI. No player in the NL has represented an injection of life into a club as has Cespedes since early August. Bryce Harper will probably win MVP, if only because he was with the Nationals on Opening Day. That’s fine.

Harper can accept the award from his couch while he is watching the Mets play October baseball.

As Amazin‘ (pun intended) as Cespedes has been, the story of David Wright has been even more incredible. Concerns about Wright potentially being permanently sidelined by spinal stenosis have been replaced with highlights featuring the living Mr. Met crushing five home runs and delivering 17 RBI in 34 games played (h/t ESPN). Those numbers are nice, but anybody who has followed the Mets since 2004 knows that Wright means far more to the club than what he contributes to the lineup and in the field.

Watch videos of the Mets celebrating after defeating the Cincinnati Reds to clinch the division title last Saturday. Teammates, one by one, approached and embraced Wright. The poor guy couldn’t even get through a single postgame interview with SNY without having champagne dumped on his head multiple times. No other NL team has that kind of emotional presence inside of the clubhouse.

Those looking to crush the dreams of Mets fans may point out that New York could have to face Cy Young candidates Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opening stages of the postseason. That would be a difficult road to travel for any opponent. The Mets won’t be entering that shootout with rubber bullets. Noah Syndergaard can be dominant so long as he avoids giving up home runs. Jacob deGrom, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, has ice in his veins. Matt Harvey has embraced his role as “The Dark Knight” by silencing talk about his workload being limited for the time being.

The bullpen of the Mets is about to get stronger. Jonathon Niese, who should get some relief work during the final week of the season so long as the weather cooperates, will give the New York ‘pen the left arm it has been missing. Bartolo Colon, at 42 years old and with 14 wins this year (h/t ESPN), could provide backup if needed. Jeurys Familia may make fans chew on their fingernails from time to time, but the closer of the Mets is third in the NL in saves this season (h/t ESPN).

It would be inaccurate to say that there are not several reasons to doubt the Mets in October. Both Kershaw and Greinke have notched wins over the Mets this season (h/t MLB.com). As Robert Pace of FOX Sports explained, NL Central foes the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs defeated the Mets 17 out of 20 times in 2015.

The Mets, as Pace also wrote, have been a different team since acquiring Cespedes:

It’s not just Cespedes that makes the Mets’ lineup dangerous. Daniel Murphy, Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda and captain David Wright have come up big in spurts this season, and they lead a Mets offense that also has the highest OPS in the NL in the second half of the season.

Pace added:

Wright has struggled through enough losing seasons in New York, and will do everything in his power to ensure he and his teammates make the most of their postseason run.

Think back to the 2009 postseason. It was then when Alex Rodriguez shook his postseason demons and became the best hitter of the postseason. No version of A-Rod ever had the emotional attachment to the New York Yankees that Wright has to the Mets. Wright knows this may be his last chance at winning a World Series before his body betrays him one final time. The veteran leadership and will to win that Wright will bring to the Mets are intangibles that cannot be measured in any statistic.

All that has occurred within the organization since 2006 has been leading up to the Mets once again playing meaningful October baseball. Carlos Beltran striking out in Game 7. The collapse of 2007. The Yankees winning a World Series when the Mets were an afterthought in their own city. Flores crying in the infield. Trading for Cespedes. The story can fittingly only have one ending.

Why will the Mets be unstoppable in the postseason? Because no other NL team is an unbeatable force. Because the Mets can go blow for blow with any opponent that it will face leading up to a World Series. Because these players have rallied around their manager and around Captain Wright. Because Citi Field will be rocking like never before the first time it hosts a playoff game.

Most of all, the Mets will be unstoppable because they still don’t know that they were never supposed to be in the first place.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Put on your imaginary general manager hat for a moment (you know you have one) and ponder this tantalizing hypothetical: Matt Harvey of the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg are both available for the taking.

Whom do you take?

There isn’t really a wrong answer. They’re two of the top young aces in baseball. And despite a few warts—largely related to injuries—they’re both studs you’d build a franchise around.

Still, as we peer past the forthcoming postseason and toward the offseason, it’s an intriguing question to ponder.

First, let’s get this out of the way: It’s entirely possible, maybe even probable, that Harvey and Strasburg won’t go anywhere this winter.

Strasburg won’t hit the market until 2017, assuming the Nationals don’t extend him first, and Harvey is under the Mets’ control through the 2018 season.

But both players have been the subject of trade speculation.

On Sept. 8, as the controversy surrounding Harvey’s innings limit was reaching critical mass, ESPN’s Buster Olney outlined the case for dealing the 26-year-old right-hander:

For Mets fans who have donned Batman masks and capes for Harvey’s starts, this is all very personal, because they believed he would lead the team’s push toward October. Now, he is apparently ready to sit out the most important games of the season for the sake of his long-term career. It’s a business decision, not personal.

The Mets should also make a business decision this winter: They should trade Harvey.

Since then, Harvey has made two strong starts, including a 6.2-inning, 97-pitch effort Sept. 26 that clinched the National League East for New York.

So you could argue he’s put at least part of the brouhaha behind him. And it sounds like he’s softening on the workload cap he once claimed was a doctor-decreed necessity, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. 

Certainly, the Mets aren’t thinking about anything right now except their first trip to the postseason since 2006. They’re hoping to make a deep run, and Harvey will play a key role.

If the Mets win it all and Harvey plows through October, forget about it. He’ll be in Queens for the foreseeable future.

But what if New York gets bounced early? And what if Harvey pitches only so-so? Then the door would be open, and the Mets would be wise to at least consider dangling him.

A rotation of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Jonathon Niese, with Zack Wheeler possibly returning from Tommy John surgery at some point in 2016, should suffice.

And Harvey could bring back at least one impact bat to replace or supplant deadline acquisition Yoenis Cespedes, who may bolt via free agency. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post floated several interesting names, including San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies.

Unlike the Mets, the Nationals have no October glory to look forward to. Instead, they’re drowning in acrimony and infighting as their monumentally disappointing season limps across the finish line.

Still, a Strasburg trade is far from a sure thing. Starters Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister will both be free agents this winter. Trading Strasburg on top of that would create massive upheaval in a rotation that was the club’s backbone coming into 2015.

But the Nats have promising arms in the pipeline, including right-hander Lucas Giolito, their No. 1 prospect according to MLB.com.

And like Harvey, Strasburg would yield a haul of prospects or MLB-ready talent. The Nationals and Texas Rangers had “wide-ranging” discussions about the 27-year-old righty last offseason, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported, so we know the Nats are at least picking up the phone.

OK, now that we’ve established these trades could go down, let’s return to the original query: Whom do you go after?

There are plenty of parallels between the two. Both are power pitchers just entering their prime. Both shot out of the gate before succumbing to torn ulnar collateral ligaments and Tommy John surgery. They’ve each made All-Star teams, and both have finished in the top 10 in Cy Young balloting.

In terms of career numbers, Strasburg owns a 3.12 ERA with 894 strikeouts in 770.2 innings pitched, while Harvey boasts a 2.57 ERA with 438 strikeouts in 421 innings pitched. If you’re keeping score at home, that gives Strasburg an edge in the strikeouts-per-nine-innings department with a 10.4 mark compared to Harvey’s 9.4.

If you like WAR, Strasburg has amassed 13.5 in six seasons, while Harvey has 11.1 in three campaigns, per Baseball-Reference.

This year, overall, Harvey has a clear edge. His 2.80 ERA shines next to Strasburg’s 3.63, and he’s remained healthy while Strasburg has made multiple trips to the disabled list and battled ankle, neck and back issues.

Lately, however, Strasburg has thrown like the former No. 1 overall pick he is, pitching at least into the eighth inning, allowing three earned runs or fewer and posting double-digit strikeout totals in each of his last four starts.

While the Nationals crash and burn, Strasburg is rising from the ashes.

Potential suitors will be aware of his recent injury troubles and occasionally wobbly performance, but he’s put to rest any doubts that he can be one of the top arms in baseball.

“It’s the best I’ve seen in a couple of years,” Phillies second baseman Andres Blanco said after Strasburg twirled eight innings of no-run, one-hit, 14-strikeout ball against Philadelphia on Sept. 15, per MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. “I think most guys would agree with me. I don’t know, Nolan Ryan? A lot of fastballs, combined with [a] changeup and curveball? Pretty good.”

So now we come down to a question of price tag. If we stipulate that Harvey and Strasburg are equally awesome when healthy, the decision on whom to trade for hinges on who will offer the greater value.

At this point, clearly, Harvey would cost more. Yes, the innings-limit tempest damaged his reputation, but he’s moving away from that. And he’s already surpassed his supposedly prescribed 180-frame cap with no ill effects.

The biggest difference is team control. Strasburg would be a one-year rental, whereas a club could pencil Harvey into its rotation for three more seasons.

That’s a big deal. And while it will surely raise Harvey’s sticker shock, it also makes him a uniquely alluring asset—one who’s worth mortgaging the farm or offloading an All-Star-caliber major league player.

Even with this winter’s deep free-agent pitching class—headlined by David Price, Johnny Cueto and, likely, Zack Greinke—Harvey would attract a gaggle of motivated buyers.

So would Strasburg. That’s why I said upfront there is no wrong answer. If I’m forced to offer one, though, it’s Harvey, for the extra years and lack of post-Tommy John maladies.

Mets fans aren’t weighing this yet because of the playoffs, and Nats fans are too distracted by their team’s embarrassing implosion.

In a few months, though, we’ll all be reaching for our imaginary general manager caps. And some actual GMs should be doing some serious Strasburg-Harvey pondering of their own.

All statistics current as of Sept. 27 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It is done. At last.

The inevitable seemed to drag out longer than anyone truly wanted it to, delaying what everyone knew was coming, which was jubilation on one side and a hint of finality about to set in on the other.

The New York Mets clinched the National League East title Saturday, hammering the Cincinnati Reds early at Great American Ball Park to ensure about an hour into the game that the celebration would be commencing soon.

The 10-2 win, which came on the strength of starter Matt Harvey’s 6.2 innings and two earned runs on 97 pitches, gave the Mets their first division title since 2006, and it will be their first postseason appearance since then as well. They did it as the heavy underdog; the Washington Nationals expected to trounce them when Opening Day rolled around in April.

Meanwhile, those Nationals, easily the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball this year, have been going through the motions. They claimed they believed in the postseason dream up until the end, even though the odds had buried them weeks earlier and their sense of urgency was gone well before that. The Mets’ official Twitter account highlighted the team capturing the NL East:

For the 1st time since 2006, the #Mets are NL East CHAMPIONS! #LGM pic.twitter.com/f5sxef5U0T

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 26, 2015

The Nationals also won a game Saturday, but by the time Bryce Harper hit a walk-off double to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 12th inning, the Mets were already well into their celebration.

In fact, in the same moments Harper’s hit won the game, Mets rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard was tapping buttons on social media to share with the world the feelings he and his teammates were experiencing:

Clubhouse clinching vibe like…….. pic.twitter.com/HSx7vfCDJy

— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) September 26, 2015

The Mets are going to be the top dog in the NL East for a while—at least that is easy to believe right now.

They have position players still coming into their own, such as Travis d’Arnaud, and the franchise should be willing to spend the money to add to that core, whether it is re-signing impending free agent Yoenis Cespedes or finding offense in another form. Even with “Captain America,” David Wright, on the downside of his career, the Mets should feature a capable offense going forward.

The pitching, of course, is the foundation. Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Syndergaard are the players who will decide the peaks this franchise reaches over the next handful of seasons, starting with these coming playoffs. With that kind of starting pitching core, the Mets can be penciled in to contend without hesitation.

The Nationals were built to contend in 2015, and the future was going to be unclear beyond that with key players hitting free agency.

While the Mets were viewed as an up-and-coming club still finding itself at the start of the season, the Nationals were thought to be the squad of mostly veterans—including 22-year-old Harper in his fourth year—built on potentially dominant starting pitching and enough offensive firepower to win, even if the starters had a letdown.

Now, more than eight months after the Nats signed Max Scherzer and became the overwhelming division favorites, the team seems a mess. It has devolved into one that has not played with urgency all year and has a sour aura surrounding it.

At least some of the men on the field blame manager Matt Williams, long seen as a strategic debacle, but now exposed as a flawed leader. General manager Mike Rizzo spent much of the downtrodden season defending Williams, but even he has cooled on the idea to the point where, whenever he is asked about Williams’ job security, he is publicly saying he will evaluate the entire team after the campaign. 

“It’s a terrible environment,” one player told Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “And the amazing part is everybody feels that way.”

Managers probably have less of an impact on wins and losses in baseball than they do in other team sports. Even Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, a fiery skipper, understood the game is mostly an individual sport and that players affect the outcomes. Not managers.

Yet, when a manager is so “tense,” as Nationals players described Williams as being, minds can change.

“A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have thought it made any difference,” another player told Svrluga. “But after what we’ve been through for two years? It’s huge. Huge.”

Those quotes were published Saturday night, around the time the Mets eliminated the Nationals from the postseason. Both instances combined to likely finish off Williams’ tenure with the franchise, one that won him the league’s Manager of the Year honor last season.

The Nationals are not done being competitive. They still have a rotation fronted by Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, a great pitching prospect in Lucas Giolito and they still have Harper, Rendon and other promising young position players like center fielder Michael Taylor and shortstop Trea Turner. Those players will help keep this franchise competitive in the immediate future.

The Mets and Nationals will likely have fierce battles for years to come, but this year’s will hardly be remembered as a competitive one. In the now, these are franchises headed in opposite directions, with one likely in the market for a new manager.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

1. Clayton K-K-K-K-K-K…ershaw

The season’s silliest moment, and it’s not even close, came when the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw was not originally named to the National League All-Star team and instead was listed among the NL’s final-five fan vote.

Are you kidding?

In the name of Sandy Koufax and all that is hardball holy, if Kershaw is not an automatic, no-brainer All-Star, then somebody whiffed, and whiffed badly.

So chalk up another in Clayton Kershaw’s Season of Strikeouts. A swing and a miss. Right now, he’s a Toro-riding mower chugging through a field of overgrown weeds.

“He keeps defying the odds,” Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford marvels. “Just when you thought you’d seen it all, he keeps rising above.

“We really do get spoiled.”

Yes, we do. Case in point: In a season in which Kershaw is on pace to become the first pitcher to fan 300 or more hitters in a single campaign since Arizona’s Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002, Kershaw didn’t even win the NL fan vote. St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez did.

Kershaw was named an NL All-Star as a replacement for Max Scherzer, who became ineligible when he pitched on the Sunday before the game.

Granted, the man who won both the NL MVP and Cy Young awards last year pitched part of the first half without his Superman cape. He went a “pedestrian” 6-6 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.024 WHIP in the first half. He also led the league with 160 strikeouts.

Now at a career-high 259, he’s on pace for 300-plus, and suddenly people who have been napping on certain things this season are beginning to take notice.

His steamrolling of San Francisco last week with a 132-pitch, 15-strikeout complete game was phenomenal. And it wasn’t just the strikeouts, it was his utter dominance in a key game in a pivotal series that separated the Dodgers from the Giants in the NL West race.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him in two years,” says one NL scout. “It was a masterpiece.

“He could have struck out everybody that night.”

Much as you might expect Kershaw to get a rush from all of the strikeouts, he doesn’t. At least, he claims he doesn’t.

“You know what, strikeouts are just another out to me,” he says. “It’s not the most important thing. Sometimes it’s good to be able to strike guys out in different situations but, honestly, getting outs as fast as possible is the most important thing.

“Keeping your pitch count down, going eight or nine innings, those are things I try and focus on as opposed to striking guys out.”

Still, like tourists on Sunset Boulevard, the strikeouts are coming in waves.

And in 11 starts since July 8, Kershaw is 8-0 with a 0.93 ERA. He’s racked up 112 strikeouts and walked just nine in 87 innings during those outings.

If Kershaw does finish the season with 300 punchouts, he will be the first Dodger to do so since his friend, Koufax, in 1966. Koufax produced the top four strikeout seasons in Dodgers history: 1965 (382), 1966 (317), 1963 (306) and 1961 (269).

“Anytime you get to be mentioned in the same breath as him when it’s related to baseball is a huge honor,” Kershaw says. “But strikeouts are just a byproduct of trying to get outs as quickly as possible.”

However, in working toward getting quick outs, Kershaw’s strategy changes, depending on in-game situations.

“He says that,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis says. “He says an out is an out. He is so satisfied with getting a first-pitch weak ground ball. To him, that’s the perfect out. That’s what drives him.

“That said, when the hitter has two strikes and there’s one out, now he’s in control of the out. When the hitter has two strikes, now what’s the best option of getting one of 27 outs?”

So here comes the hammer.

Part of it is that Kershaw is throwing in an era when major league hitters are striking out like never before. The rate of 7.79 whiffs per game in the NL is the second-highest ever, trailing only last year’s 7.90. But that does not distort the fact that Kershaw is on pace for baseball’s first 300-K season by a pitcher since 2002, or that his overwhelming dominance is all-consuming.

“It’s a joke,” Dodgers starter Brett Anderson says admiringly. “It’s remarkable. Double digits every start.

“Being a strikeout guy early in my career, you appreciate a ground ball here and there. But with him, there’s some jealousy.”

And at season’s end, that San Francisco start may well wind up as his signature game. His 15 strikeouts were the highest total against the Giants in a single game since Nolan Ryan fanned 16 San Francisco hitters on Sept. 9, 1987.

“His slider was unbelievable. His fastball location was spot-on.

“He’s had a couple of starts this year where it’s almost a letdown if a guy puts it in play.”

In last season’s Cy Young/MVP summer, Kershaw set his own bar so sky-high, you can almost—almost—understand why he wasn’t an automatic All-Star selection this year. But it still doesn’t excuse those of us judging him on a Superman scale instead of on par with other big league hurlers.

“Expectations are great,” Kershaw says. “That means people think highly of you. That’s the way I look at it. People are going to have their opinions about how you’re doing, which is also fine with me. It’s a lot of people’s jobs to do that.

“But at end of day, I care about how I view it, how Honey [pitching coach Rick Honeycutt] views it and how our team views it. That’s the most important thing.”

And to that degree, it’s aces across the board. As usual.

2. The Mets and Operation Shutdown

We can joke all we want about what a young Ryan and Tom Seaver would have said when their innings-pitched odometer ran high and the threat to shut them down would have been mentioned, but it is a different game and culture today.

So when things went volcanic between Matt Harvey and the New York Mets the other day, the disbelief isn’t that a powerful agent would bully the club in the best interest of his client.

And it doesn’t come from the fact that Harvey sent mixed signals over a 48-hour period that provoked overwrought emotions. Yeah, he’s 26, but he’s still just a kid in the bruising world of MLB. (Though given his title as “New York City Bureau Chief” for the Players’ Tribune, you would have thought he would have fact-checked and sourced things far better than he did.)

No, the inexplicable part of this is how Harvey and the Mets got themselves into this position, so publicly, in the first place, with less than four weeks left in the season.

Say what you want about how the Nationals handled Stephen Strasburg, but the lines were clearly drawn all season long in 2012. Everybody up to and including the Racing Presidents in Nationals Park knew that when Strasburg reached a certain point (and it turned out to be 159.1 innings pitched), the Nationals were going to pull the plug.

What’s crazy about this Mets business is how it exploded on Labor Day weekend, severely damaging Harvey’s reputation, potentially crippling his relationship with the club and causing the Mets to look like they were wholly unprepared for what they had to know was coming.

Harvey at first was vague regarding agent Scott Boras firmly stating, via CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, that 180 innings was the pitcher’s limit for the summer. Then Harvey “authored” this piece for the Players’ Tribune promising that he would be available for the playoffs. Then, finally, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson spoke Monday, and things remain vague.

The Mets opened a crucial series against the Nationals on Monday with a victory, a game that New York play-by-plan man Gary Cohen called the club’s “biggest game in seven years.” He was right.

Yet, all the while, Harvey was getting absolutely crushed by the New York media and Mets fans, which led into his start Tuesday against the Nats in which he was crushed for seven runs in 5.1 innings, a performance that now appears to be perhaps his final start of the season.

Harvey maintains he will pitch in the playoffs. But he still hasn’t said how much or how often. Alderson indicated Monday that all of that was still being decided.

Ah, nothing like stretch-run negotiations.

3. Wake Me Up When September Ends

Anybody who watched the Dodgers-Angels Labor Day night labor-thon knows that is more than just the title of a Green Day song.

The clubs combined to use 16 pitchers, tied for second-most ever in a nine-inning MLB game and most ever in a Dodgers-Angels game. The game took three hours and 52 minutes to play.

For all of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s efforts to move along the pace of play, this month, as usual, is going to crush those efforts.

Thing is, there is a very easy fix that is almost universally supported by everyone this side of the players’ association.

Here it is: Allow clubs to continue to call up as many minor leaguers as they wish in September. But lock rosters in at a certain number—say, 28, including five-man rotations—for each series. So each club would have to designate which 28 players are on the active roster. Then, when the next series arrives, each club could tweak its 28-man active roster.

So many managers, from the Angels’ Mike Scioscia to the Braves’ Fredi Gonzalez and ex-San Diego skipper Bud Black, have told me they’re in favor of a rules change in that vein. It makes too much sense because, with modern-day bullpen usage being what it is, if a team stocks 14 pitchers in its bullpen, it’s going to be tempted to use all of them and drag things on interminably.

During their mad dash toward the World Series in 2007, the Colorado Rockies equaled an MLB record for a nine-inning game by throwing 10 different pitchers at the San Diego Padres on Sept. 7. Every time the Padres sent a lefty to the plate, then-Colorado manager Clint Hurdle had another lefty reliever at his disposal.

This is the only game that allows its rules to be significantly altered during the stretch run. There are good reasons to allow clubs to get a look at young prospects during September, but within limits.

The rule will be discussed during upcoming bargaining sessions between the players and owners (the current basic agreement is up after the 2016 season), according to sources. It is far past time to change it.

As for Monday’s Angels-Dodgers game, even some of the participants thought it was interminable:

4. Debut of the Week

Yes, Dodgers uber-prospect Corey Seager showed us he can play, with eight hits, four doubles and three walks in his first 24 plate appearances.

But manager Don Mattingly giving him the green light on a 3-0 count against Padres reliever Marc Rzepczynski and Seager responding in his MLB debut with an RBI single was only my second-favorite moment of this kid’s arrival.

The best moment?

Before his first game, he was surrounded by maybe 15 or 20 media members in the dugout, and someone asked him whether his parents would be in attendance later that night.

“Yeah, they’re actually right there making this even more awkward,” Seager quipped, motioning toward his parents, who were standing just outside of the dugout, mom snapping cellphone photos of her son’s first official press briefing in a Dodgers uniform.

5. A (Chicken) Pox on the Royals

Sure, September is back-to-school time. But you wouldn’t think a kid’s disease would fell an MLB club during the stretch run.

Yet in Kansas City, All-Star setup man Kelvin Herrera and outfielder Alex Rios each came down with a bout of chickenpox.

Initially uncertain about Rios’ return, the club acquired Jonny Gomes from the Braves and is doing everything it can to prevent a full-fledged outbreak.

The Royals think they’re good, as most people are inoculated against chickenpox, among many other things, as kids.

Quipped Gomes after the Royals ran him through their medical exam, per Dave Skretta of the Associated Press (via the Denver Post): “That was the first time I’ve been asked that in a physical. Normally it’s, ‘How’s your shoulder? How’s your knee?’ Yeah, chickenpox. I’m good.”

And people thought the biggest challenge standing between them and another World Series appearance would be the Toronto Blue Jays.

6. Weekly Power Rankings

1. Scott Boras: The game’s most powerful agent now calling Harvey’s pitches. One finger for a fastball, two for a curve, three for time to shut it down.

2. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke: Since Greinke joined the Dodgers rotation in 2013, the duo has racked up 98 wins, most of any teammates in that time, according to STATS LLC. They also rank first and second in ERA during that time (minimum 300 innings pitched), with Kershaw owning an MLB-best 1.91 ERA and Greinke second at 2.34.

3. College football: Thrilled to have you back, but some of these shoe-company-induced metallic helmets and weird-looking uniform combinations are as jarring as Bermuda shorts on the 1976 Chicago White Sox. Ugh.

4. Yoenis Cespedes: Since the Mets acquired him July 31, Cespedes, as of Wednesday, was hitting .307 (47-for-153) with nine doubles, three triples, 13 homers, 34 RBI and 32 runs scored in 35 games. Mets to Carlos Gomez: Thank you!

5. Stephen Colbert: Best late-night acquisition in New York since Billy Martin managed the Yankees.

7. Chatter

• The Texas Tech quarterback who threw for a nation-high 425 yards and four touchdowns in the Red Raiders’ 59-45 win over Sam Houston State on Saturday? Yes, Patrick Mahomes is the son of the former big league pitcher. Pat Mahomes went 42-39 with a 5.47 ERA over 308 games pitching for Minnesota (1992-96), Boston (1996-97), the Mets (1999-2000), Texas (2001), the Cubs (2002) and Pittsburgh (2003).

• The surprising Twins keep rolling, and outfielders who manager Paul Molitor and others think could be productive for a long time in Minnesota continue to settle in. Left fielder Eddie Rosario now has 15 outfield assists, just one short of the club’s rookie record of 16 set by Kirby Puckett in 1984. Aaron Hicks is getting his footing in center field, and Byron Buxton is a future star.

• Seattle is cranking up its GM interview process and is set to interview former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, according to FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. Given the Mariners’ parameters set by president Kevin Mather, that they don’t want someone learning on the job, Kevin Towers, Jim Hendry, Dan O’Dowd and Kenny Williams should get interviews, too.

• Everything is falling into place in Toronto, including this: Marcus Stroman will make his first start of the season Saturday against the Yankees. Stroman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee this spring and originally was thought to be lost for the season. Stroman’s addition could make the Jays even stronger down the stretch and in October.

• Kris Bryant now has 23 homers. The only rookie in Cubs history with more? Billy Williams, who hit 25 in 1961.

• Love that shortstop Addison Russell last week became the first Cubs No. 9 hitter to homer twice in a game since…Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, in 1971, as the Elias Sports Bureau pointed out.

• Rest in peace, Joaquin Andujar. Will never forget him saying, “There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, ‘You Never Know.'” Still holds true today.

8. Bryce Harper Watches…and Watches…and Watches

And yet, in this game on Thursday, he walked four times, scored four runs and knocked in a run:

9. Memories

Just because, you should read this old news story:

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week

If you read item No. 3, you knew this was coming…

“Summer has come and passed

“The innocent can never last

“Wake me up when September ends

“Ring out the bells again

“Like we did when spring began

“Wake me up when September ends”

— Green Day, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This will not be easily forgotten.

The New York Mets have trudged along, disappointing their fanbase for the last eight seasons, but 2015 changed that. They signed players, made trades and developed a promising young core—position guys and pitchers alike.

And five months into this season, this had paid dividends in a big and exciting way. The starting rotation is at the center of it all. It is young, hard-throwing and has shown how completely dominant it can be when it is on, giving the Mets a legitimate chance to win the National League pennant now that an NL East title seems inevitable.

These are the Mets, though. There is always a wrench, and it was just chucked at them by their most marketable and beloved—until now—player, Matt Harvey, who is pitching exceptionally well in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.

Almost inexplicably, the 26-year-old ace appears to be sticking by his super-agent, Scott Boras, and imposing a hard innings limit on himself, 180 innings to be exact and of which he has already fulfilled 166.

Even with the postseason looming next month, Harvey’s first ever and the Mets’ first since 2006, the limit is supposedly nonnegotiable and new news to the team, first brought to their attention late last month by Boras in an email to general manager Sandy Alderson. Newsday’s David Lemmon shared Alderson’s thoughts regarding the situation:

Alderson on Harvey: “Ultimately it’s his decision. It’s not the team’s and not his agent’s.” (more) … #mets

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) September 5, 2015

Presumably not wanting to go against his agent, Harvey is purposely murky and wishy-washy in his answers to inquiries about whether he will pitch in the playoffs. His ominous words lead everyone to believe he will not, but that he just doesn’t want to be the bad guy and come right out and say it. Harvey told reporters Saturday:

I’m the type of person, I never want to put the ball down. Obviously, I hired Scott as my agent and went to Dr. [James] Andrews as my surgeon because I trusted them to keep my career going and keep me healthy.

As far as being out there, being with my teammates and playing, I’m never going to want to stop, but as far as the surgeon and my agent having my back and kind of looking out for the best of my career, they’re obviously speaking their minds about it.

Harvey, however, did not. And the questions about how much more he will pitch this year linger.

This will not be easily forgotten. Not by a long-suffering fanbase and not by his teammates, because this could cost all of them a legitimate shot at a World Series.

Plus, there was this last week from manager Terry Collins, seemingly boasting about the tenacity of his pitcher as the innings mounted and the playoffs approached:

This is the time of year we’ve talked about, that he’s talked about. One of the things we had discoursed all summer long when all the innings things started to rear its ugly head, Matt said, ‘I’m pitching in the playoffs. If we get to the playoffs, I want to be able to pitch.’ In all the discussions we’ve had, he’s said, ‘Listen, I’ll do it but I’m pitching in October.’

Now, it appears Harvey is backtracking on those statements, appeasing his top-flight agent and pissing off anyone loyal to the Mets. And they should be mad, because as we all saw with Stephen Strasburg’s 2012 shutdown by the Washington Nationals, these kinds of real opportunities to win cannot be taken for granted.

What Harvey means to the Mets is measurable in the stats and the radar gun. It is immeasurable in terms of him being a valve that helps pump competitive blood through the team. He’s got the 2.60 ERA and the fastball that can knock on 99 mph’s door. But if he is indeed deciding to pack it in, the blood flow slows down significantly.

The team still has co-ace Jacob deGrom and stud rookie Noah Syndergaard and another promising rookie in Steven Matz. Teams envy that trio, but the foursome that includes Harvey is elite, much more intimidating and the reason the Mets had been seen as a threat in the playoffs.

Without Harvey, it seems the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team almost certain to face the Mets in the NL Division Series, have a clear and obvious advantage. If they go on to knock out the Mets, and Harvey does not pitch, the offense is unforgivable only because talk of a hard 180-inning limit did not surface until it was virtually too late for the club to do anything about it.

It can’t manage it because his current total is already too close to the ceiling. It can’t replace him because all the trade windows have closed. It can’t improve its postseason chances because Harvey is just too critical a part of its success.

So now everyone involved keeps waiting. They wait to see if this game-changing problem can be rectified. They wait to see if Harvey actually commits one way or another. They wait to see how damaging his shutdown could be to their October fate.

All the while, everyone knows—New York will not easily forget this.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets never wanted Matt Harvey to be Stephen Strasburg. As far as we knew, at least until Friday, Harvey never wanted to be Strasburg, either.

“Matt said, ‘I’m pitching in the playoffs,'” Terry Collins said, per Newsday’s Mark Herrmann, just this week. “In all the discussions we’ve had, he’s said, ‘Listen, I’ll do it, but I’m pitching in October.'”

If he really believes that, he should pitch, no matter what any doctor told his agent Scott Boras about the risk.

Boras is Harvey’s agent, and he’s also Strasburg’s agent. And in his media blitz Friday, which began with Jon Heyman’s story on CBSSports.com, Boras made it perfectly clear that he does want Harvey to be Strasburg. He wants him to be shut down when he gets to 180 innings (or even before), just as the Washington Nationals famously (infamously?) shut down Strasburg after 159.1 innings in 2012.

If that means missing his first chance at the playoffs, and his team’s first playoff shot in nine years, so be it. Strasburg missed his first chance at October, and his team’s first-ever postseason in its current city.

“Yeah, and how did that work?” one rival executive asked Friday.

Depends on your perspective. The Nationals lost in the playoffs without Strasburg in 2012 and lost in the playoffs with him last October. They missed the playoffs in 2013 and are in serious danger of missing them again this year.

Strasburg has never been as dominating as he was pre-surgery. But, as Boras would point out, he hasn’t suffered another elbow injury, at least not yet.

Harvey, like Strasburg in 2012, is in his first year after Tommy John surgery. The Mets agreed with Boras that he should operate under some innings limits because of that, and they spaced out some of his starts, skipped a start in August and planned to skip another this month.

Assistant general manager John Ricco told ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin Friday in Miami that they wanted to limit Harvey to between 190 and 195 regular-season innings, with a “reasonable” innings total in the postseason if the Mets get there and he remains strong.

The plan seemed sensible. It seemed to be working (one scout who saw Harvey last week said it was the “best stuff I’ve seen in five years”). It also seemed acceptable to everyone involved—at least until Boras made his disagreement public Friday.

Boras said in his various interviews Friday he had consulted with Dr. James Andrews, who performed Harvey’s surgery in the fall of 2013, and also with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers team physician and another Tommy John surgery specialist. He said Andrews believes a pitcher in his first year after Tommy John surgery shouldn’t exceed his career high in innings (in Harvey’s case, the 178.1 innings he pitched in 2013), per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and that ElAttrache suggested an even lower number (165, per Rubin).

He said he had passed that information on to the Mets and to Harvey.

There’s no reason to doubt any of that or that doctors believe that increased innings lead to increased risk of reinjury. There’s also no reason Harvey and the Mets can’t listen to that advice, understand the risk and decide it’s worth taking for the chance to win a World Series.

That wouldn’t be reckless, even if Boras insists it is. It wouldn’t be reckless, as long as Harvey is as fully on board with the plan as the Mets have insisted he is.

There was a theory going around Friday that he’s not really on board with it, that he wants Boras and the Mets to take the heat, just as Boras and the Nats took most of the heat for the Strasburg shutdown. As much as Harvey has cultivated an image as the ultra-competitor, he’s also never hidden his desire to sign a big-money contract.

Why risk anything now, when free agency and that big contract await in three more years?

And that’s exactly why this ultimately has to be Harvey’s decision. He’s the only one who can determine how much he’s willing to risk future earnings for a chance to star now.

The Mets can be cautious, as they believe they have been. Boras can provide all the cautionary tales, as he has.

In the end, though, this is no different from when you visit your own doctor. Mine, every year, tells me I ought to think about losing a little weight and getting a little more exercise.

Every year, I thank him for his advice.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets will not place pitcher Matt Harvey under an innings cap this season, allowing him to pitch into the playoffs, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin on Sept. 4. 

However, there is debate between the organization and Scott Boras, Harvey’s agent, who is advocating for a 180-inning cap as advised by Dr. James Andrews.

“I’m sort of caught in the middle of it,” Andrews said, per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. “That’s their business. They both know what I’ve said, and I don’t want to get into it. The main thing is to do what’s best for Matt’s career. He really wants to play, and they’re in the playoffs. But it’s their problem.”

Harvey is currently at 166.1 innings pitched but skipped his Aug. 23 start, and the Mets plan to move to a six-man rotation to help preserve their star pitcher, per Rubin.

Continue for updates.

Harvey Comments on Innings Limit, Alderson to Speak to Pitcher on Monday

Saturday, Sept. 5.

Harvey confirmed Andrews informed him of the 180-innings limit on his arm after Tommy John surgery, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. However, he would not say if he would shut his season down when he reaches that point.

Harvey also wouldn’t answer questions on Saturday about potentially pitching in the playoffs, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com

After Harvey’s comments, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson spoke about who will make the decision to end Harvey’s campaign, saying the onus was on the pitcher.

“Ultimately it’s his decision,” Alderson said via David Lennon of Newsday. “It’s not the team’s and not his agent’s.”

“If he’s not prepared to pitch, he’s not prepared to pitch,” Alderson said, via Lennon, adding the two would speak on Monday.

Boras, Alderson At Odds Over Harvey’s Innings Limit

Saturday, Sept. 5.

“Dr. James Andrews, who performed Harvey’s Tommy John surgery on Oct. 22, 2013, has recommended Harvey throw no more than 180 innings this season,” Rubin’s report stated. “Another expert, Los Angeles Dodgers team doctor Neal ElAttrache, has recommended a cap of 165 to Boras.”

However, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported Andrews does not always set strict innings caps in players coming off of Tommy John surgery.

“Three rival GMs say Dr. Andrews does not prescribe set limits post-Tommy John. ‘He always says to watch and go on a case by case,’ one says,” according to the report.

However, Rosenthal spoke with Mets general manager Sandy Alderson on Saturday morning to receive clarity on the situation and noted that Alderson said, “Dr. Andrews gave him no absolute limit on Harvey, said there was no need for an absolute limit.” 

“Alderson said Andrews talked about avoiding fatigue of season and not disrupting Harvey’s rhythm if he intended to pitch in playoffs,” per Rosenthal. Rosenthal finally noted, “Drs. Andrews, El Attrache, Altchek all disagree on limit,” after stating from Alderson that “he didn’t say 180 was the number. He was not categorical at all.”

New York is already planning to pitch Harvey in the postseason, with Mets assistant GM John Ricco saying Harvey will have “reasonable” innings in the postseason, depending on how he feels, via Rubin. 

The New York Post‘s Mike Puma reported on Sept. 4 that Alderson had chosen not to listen to Boras, or anyone else for that matter as it pertained to Harvey:

Boras, one of the biggest agents in the business, spoke with CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman about Alderson’s decision:

This is not a dispute between between representative and player, and club. This is about a doctor providing expert medical opinion regarding the safety and well being of the player. If the club chooses to violate the ethical standard of the medical opinion, that is strictly their prerogative. I’m not a medical doctor. I don’t make these things up.

The 26-year-old might need a bit of rest, as he was laboring in his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 2. He allowed four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings and, according to Rubin, was “experiencing dehydration and weakness” after his outing.

Rosenthal provided his view of the situation and Harvey’s health:

Behind Harvey, a stellar pitching staff and the acquisition of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets are flirting with the postseason for the first time since 2006. And it seems management is approaching this with a win-now mentality.

Craig Calcaterra of HardballTalk.com provided his thoughts on the best way to approach the situation:

If I were Alderson, I’d be pretty loathe to give Boras the time of day on this stuff. I’d talk to my pitcher and ask him his thoughts and, assuming he’s wired the same way every other athlete is wired, I’d assume he’d be on board with doing whatever is in the Mets’ best interests to win a championship this year. Which is totally within this team’s grasp.

The team’s actions with Harvey point toward its desire to finish off the Nationals, preseason favorites to win the NL East, as quickly as possible. New York currently holds a five-game lead in the NL East

The Mets will need Harvey to do so, especially with his next start scheduled for Sept. 8 against Washington. The rest of the staff, while talented, is either inexperienced (Noah Syndergaard) or inconsistent (Jon Niese, Bartolo Colon). Harvey, along with Jacob deGrom, should give the rotation the confidence to move forward and help the Mets clinch a playoff berth. 

Follow Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) on Twitter. Stats courtesy of MLB.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Wednesday’s plethora of MLB games allows DraftKings participants to make the most out of low-value offensive options. Pitching aces such as Max Scherzer, Matt Harvey and Clayton Kershaw are a few of the upper-tier pitchers set to take the mound on Wednesday.

With a focus set on bargain positional players in order to make room for high-quality pitching options, here are the best DraftKings fantasy baseball picks for Wednesday.

Begin Slideshow

No matter the situation, Matt Harvey wants the ball in his hand. It’s an admirable trait to have an unyielding competitive streak running through his veins, and it’s not something that can be taught. You either have it or you don’t.

But as New York’s 26-year-old star understands better than most, it’s something that can oftentimes lead to frustration.

“I felt like I could have pitched last September,” Harvey told Bleacher Report via phone early Friday morning during a promotion for Axe Hair. “But looking back, taking the entire year off was probably the best decision that we could have made. I have no regrets.”

And to this point, neither do the Mets. Their elite trio of Harvey, reigning NL ROY Jacob deGrom and rookie Noah Syndergaard is as good as there is in the league.

To match his rotation mates’ mastery, though, Harvey has had to take care of his hair nearly as carefully as his prized arm.

“I think it was more Syndergaard and DeGrom, and the way they’re pitching with their long hair that got me motivated to team up with Axe Hair and do what I can to maximize my hair prime and keep up with those guys. I need to keep my hair looking good and feeling good to do that.”

For the Dark Knight, keeping up with Thor and the DeGrominator on the mound hasn’t been quite as difficult this season, as all three have consistently delivered impressive performances for the Mets in a 2015 playoff push. DeGrom, especially, has stood out for Harvey.

“Well, I think his pitching style and the way he’s been pitching all year speaks for itself. He’s been pretty impressive to watch, and as long as he continues to be ‘DeGrominant,’ we’ll be OK.”

“OK” is just how Harvey, who underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in October 2013, feels, noting that the wear and tear of 120 games does take its toll on a player. This is especially true for one coming off a missed season. He also offered some advice for those who have yet to undergo the procedure.

“If I could advise future Tommy John patients, I’d definitely advise them to take as much time as they possibly can. Even if you feel like you’re ready to go after 10 months, those few extra months of rest really pay off.”

Sage advice aside, he now faces more potential frustration in the not-so-distant future. With 154 innings under his belt already this year, he’s quickly closing in on the preset innings limit—believed to be around 190 innings—that the Mets have in mind for him.

If this situation sounds oddly familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it play out before. It was not long ago—2012—when Washington made the controversial call to shut Stephen Strasburg down in mid-September as he reached the team’s innings limits in a return from the same procedure.

“It’s a tough thing to talk about,” Harvey said of innings limits. “As a competitor, you can look at that situation and feel for [Strasburg]. He’s a competitor who wants to be on the field with his team, and you can appreciate that.”

Strasburg didn’t hide his frustration with the team’s decision, and it’s one Harvey hopes to avoid.

“You deal with it if it gets to that point, but hopefully it doesn’t. Hopefully there’s a way to keep moving things around and keep rolling into November. Keep our heads down, try to keep winning and get as far ahead of the Nationals as we can.”

While their situations are different—Harvey had far more time to recover and build his arm back up than Strasburg did—the possibility of being shut down and/or restricted still exists. And you can’t necessarily blame the Mets for being overly cautious with their biggest star, considering how big a part of the team’s present and future he is.

But if there’s a lesson to be learned from Strasburg‘s situation, it’s that you never know when you’re going to have a chance to make a playoff run again. The Mets have to find a happy medium between protecting one of their most valuable assets and seizing the opportunity in front of them.

Shutting down or shackling Harvey would not only put New York’s playoff hopes at risk, but also threaten to erase much of the positive energy flowing from the fans at Citi Field—which has become as difficult a place for the opposition to find success as there is in baseball. Even after being swept by Pittsburgh over the weekend, the Mets own baseball’s fourth-best home record (42-21) heading into Monday’s games.

“Whenever we take the field at home, there’s a buzz, an excitement flowing through the stadium and we just want to keep it going. We definitely feed off that excitement whenever we can put on the home jerseys and go out and play in front of our fans, who have been unbelievable. It’s pretty special.”

Harvey added that the team doesn’t feel like it’s under any pressure to atone for the franchise’s past postseason and pennant race failings, but you have to go back to the days of Bobby Valentine to find a comparable buzz and excitement surrounding the Mets.

That feeling was magnified by the team’s trade additions in July. Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe not only plugged some holes on the roster, but they have added a new dimension to the clubhouse.

“It’s been pretty unreal, it’s something you can’t script up. It’s been awesome having the new guys. They definitely bring some experience, smiles and laughs to the clubhouse,” Harvey said. “It kind of took us to a whole new level. We’re having more fun and are more relaxed. Juan Uribe might be one of the best (and funniest) teammates I can ever recall having.”

With David Wright nearly ready to get back on the field after dealing with a back injury that has limited him to only eight games this year—the New York Daily News reports that Wright has targeted this weekend’s series in Colorado for his return—Mets mania may hit a peak.

“As a starting pitcher, all you can do is put your head down, keep trying to put up zeroes and win as many ballgames down the stretch as you can,” Harvey said. “Whatever happens down the line, whatever decisions they make, you deal with it when it happens.”

What’s going on at Citi Field right now is palpable, and to do anything that would risk putting out the fire is a mistake. Harvey is critical to the Mets’ pennant dreams, and this city and fanbase don’t deserve having to wonder “what if” again.

If it were up to Harvey, they’d never have to.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes acquired firsthand by Rick Weiner. All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com