Brian: I’m not the Messiah!
Arthur: I say you are, Lord, and I should know. I’ve followed a few.
Bill Pulsipher. Jason Isringhausen. Paul Wilson. Octavio Dotel. Billy Traber. Pat Strange. Tyler Yates. Yusmiero Petit. Scott Kazmir. Brian Bannister. Philip Humber. Kevin Mulvey. John Maine. Mike Pelfrey. Alay Soler. Jenrry Mejia. The list goes on and on.
Let’s please remember that Matt Harvey is 23 years old and has never thrown a pitch in anger to a major-league hitter. He’s never walked in from the bullpen and seen that there are 30,000 more people watching than he’s pitched in front before. He’s never seen how big-league hitters ignore that yet-to-be-refined curveball, or watched them coil their bats for that fastball — and not miss it.
He had nothing to do with losing the last 12 of 13. Even if he begins his career with one of its best stretches, he is incapable of making us win the next 12 of 13. He’s a young pitcher. He’s probably going to get beat around and exposed, with the best baseball players in the world providing a pitiless assessment of exactly where he is as a young pitcher. Or if it doesn’t happen the first couple of times through the league, video and word of mouth will do the job soon enough.
He’s here, and that’s good. He’s worked hard enough to get this shot and see where he stands, and that’s deserved. But he can’t save us. And his hard work is just beginning.