Mets fans could pretend that this game was depressing because the Mets lost and they're now four games under .500, and then talk about how suddenly the second division lineup on the squad looks lack-luster, and how bad the defense has been, and how the team better not ever sit David Wright again. That's a thing the fanbase could do.
But that would ignore the fact that the number one rumor for the Mets trading deadline was one that had them selling Scott Hairston -- and not finding a buyer. This team is just going to be happy to bank the wins they can while they continue to build for the future.
And so fans could instead be happy, even after a loss to a San Francisco team that was lucky to score four runs on Tuesday night. They should be happy about how Matt Harvey looked.
It wasn't all perfect. Matt Harvey threw 91 pitches through six innings and walked three guys. He wasn't always where he wanted to be. The changeup wasn't always great -- he did get three whiffs on 17 of them, but he only got nine strikes, which is a little below average. It wasn't always all the way right.
But it was great to watch. He hit 97 in the fifth inning with his fastball. He got whiffs on the change and on the slider. Walking around the concourse, you heard Giants fans talking about Harvey. He turned some heads.
It was a little strange to see him pump changeup after changeup, that's true. He threw 17 out of 86 according to Brooks Baseball. That was more than his slider (16), and he only threw four curves. That's about the reverse of how the pitches are rated by scouts. But Dan Warthen asked him to throw the pitch more, so he threw it more.
Sometime soon, we'll see Harvey use the slider, curve and fastball exclusively, most likely. And then his true glory will be revealed. Look at how he maintained his velocity deep into the game:
In the meantime, buck up. It's okay that the defense looked bad again -- Jordany Valdespin had a couple bad routes, Justin Turner came up short a couple times, and even Ruben Tejada threw away a crucial double-play ball that changed the game for the worse. It's okay that the offense wasn't great -- ten strikeouts against one walk with David Wright out of the lineup. It's okay.
Because the Mets have Matt Harvey, and he's only just begun.
SB Nation Coverage
* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* McCovey Chronicles Gamethread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Justin Turner +22.6 WPA, Scott Hairston +3.9% WPA
Big losers: Matt Harvey -20.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Justin Turner doubled to left, Scott Hairston scored +15.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Brandon Crawford reaches on error by Ruben Tejada, -13.3% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -21.1% WPA
Total batter WPA: -28.9% WPA
GWRBI!: Brandon Crawford reaches on error by Ruben Tejada