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Bar Chat

05/11/2017

Harvey Apologizes

[Posted Wed. a.m.]

The Players Championship Quiz:  [The event has been held since 1974]  1) From 2008-2011, foreign golfers won the TPC, from four different countries, the countries all beginning with the letter S.  Name the winners.  2) Who am I? I am the only winner of the TPC from New Zealand.  Answers below.

MLB

--The Matt Harvey saga deepened, with the revelation by the New York Post that Harvey was out partying Friday night, until 4 a.m., at a well-known New York City club with his entourage, and then he apparently played golf Saturday morning, the day before he was scheduled to pitch, and returned home with a migraine, so he didn’t show up for Saturday’s game.

Harvey apparently didn’t follow protocol and tell trainer Ray Ramirez that he was sick.  Instead, he waited for pitching coach Dan Warthen to reach out to him.

The Mets also, according to the Post (and Jon Heyman), sent security guards to his apartment to check on him.

Harvey was then informed of the three-game suspension when he arrived Sunday.

Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday that when Harvey shows up Tuesday, he must apologize to his teammates.

Collins texted with Harvey on Monday and wasn’t that happy with the exchange, but Collins is desperately hoping everyone can move on.  The team needs Harvey in the rotation and pitching well.  But it isn’t going to be easy.

Kevin Kernan / New York Post

“The time for mere words is past.  The Mets and Matt Harvey are nearing the point of no return

“Terry Collins and his team want Harvey to earn back lost trust, earn back respect.

“That can happen only one way.

“Not just show up to work...but succeed at your job.  Pitch well come Friday in Milwaukee, stop with the excuses, and battle for the team, not for the Matt Harvey brand.

“So do your job.

“ ‘He has to make some changes or this could end badly,’ one Mets official told The Post on Monday night....

“Harvey has gone from Dark Knight to good night, as in the Mets front office and players are tired of all the drama....

“Will he apologize?  ‘Unlikely,’ a person close to Harvey told The Post on Monday night.”

The Mets can’t trade the guy...he has virtually zero value the way he’s been pitching, post- his latest surgery....

“Harvey, 28, is 31-30 lifetime with Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgeries on his pitching chart.  This season he is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA....

“Much too much drama for those ugly numbers.”

So then Tuesday, Harvey arrived at the park and apologized to his teammates, fans, the Pope, Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone else.

In a statement: “First off, as I just did with my teammates and coaches, I apologize for my actions.  I am extremely embarrassed for my actions and I apologized to my teammates, to the organization, to the Wilpons and to the fans. 

“Yes, I was out on Friday night past curfew.  I did play golf Saturday morning, and put myself in a bad place for showing up to a ballgame that is my responsibility. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

So, good job, Page Six!

As for filing a grievance, as had been reported, he told reporters, “I have not done (that). Whether or not it happens down the road isn’t on my mind.”

Asked if baseball was his top priority:

“It’s not easy going into a clubhouse like that to apologize for your actions.  Certainly something I don’t want to go through again.

“I feel terrible about (this) and for my teammates (about) what I put them through.  I never want to have to do something like that again.”

And: “I’m looking forward to getting everything back on track and helping this organization moving forward. They have my word on that.”

Teammate Curtis Granderson said after, “There’s no reason why I wouldn’t (accept his apology).  It was genuine.  It was heartfelt.  He definitely thought it out and knew what he wanted to say.”

Manager Terry Collins said he hoped Harvey would make baseball his top priority.

Collins also said Bartolo Colon had been in touch with Harvey in recent days and when asked if Big Bart was supportive or more challenging in tone, Collins replied, “Both.”  “He’s a special guy,” Collins said of Colon.

Yes, somehow Colon will be back with the Mets by August, even if just out of the pen as a long man.  So says moi.

Mike Vaccaro / New York Post

“The seeds for all of the surreality that took place Sunday were scattered at random times across the last 5 ½ years.  Though it’s sometimes hard to conjure this image anymore, there was a time when Matt Harvey wasn’t just a concept and a cool nickname. He was the NEXT Seaver. Seaver was The Franchise?  Then Harvey was Franchise 2.0, arriving at a moment when the Mets were desperate to have someone other than Bernie Madoff be the face of the franchise.

“He was the goods, never forget that. There were nights he would report for work with a sneer on his face and kerosene in his right arm. That wasn’t hype. That was legit.  He was young and brash and he loved New York and supermodels and throwing four-seam fastballs, and Mets fans fell for him so hard they became instantly obsessed that he might take his talents across town to The Bronx at the first opportunity.....

“But from the start you could sense he would be a handful for the suits. There was the ESPN Magazine Body Issue. There was the long story where he talked about various fashions that helped make his eyes ‘pop.’ There was a clear attitude inside him, obvious from the moment he arrived and stood up to a veteran pitcher named Jon Rauch, all 6-foot-11 of him, when he’d dumped a bucket of ice water on the rookie’s head.  Harvey challenged Rauch to a fight. Rauch backed down....

“Three years later, with Tommy John surgery behind him and most of his weapons back with him, he all but barreled over Terry Collins to pitch the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series against the Royals. That didn’t work out so well, but Mets fans mostly loved him for that, for wanting the ball, demanding it. That, in many ways, was Peak Harvey, Peak Dark Knight. That was the summit.

“A month earlier, though, is when the world got a sense of the slippery slope Harvey was tiptoeing down.  On Tuesday, Oct. 6, three days before they would play the Dodgers in the NLDS, 24 of the Mets who would wind up on the postseason roster showed up at Citi Field for a mandatory workout.  Matt Harvey wasn’t there....

“Privately, the Mets fumed.  David Wright, asked about Harvey, shook his head and said: ‘I’m concerned about the guys who are here.  The guys who are here had a great workout.’

“But Harvey was still the Dark Knight then.  He and the Mets had already engaged in a bitter staredown over his innings limit; after battling the Mets at every turn for two years over their conservative approach to his recovery he turned to his agent, Scott Boras, to do a 180 and express concern that the team  was overusing him.  But they’d gotten through that. The team believed Harvey was ready to commit.

“And then he failed to show up for work.....

“(Now, 19 months later), when he would again go AWOL... The Mets clearly no longer feel compelled to satisfy Harvey’s every whim, to satisfy his every mood, to justify his every misstep.  The Dark Knight is gone, probably forever, and now seems like the silliest kind of joke. He’s ordinary right now on his good days. He’s had another surgery. Mets fans, many of them, would drive him themselves to Yankee Stadium on many nights....

“Harvey is paying for his hubris.  But so are the Mets, of course, who allowed this to fester, who clearly learned nothing from this sad saga since they’ve established the same protocol in coddling Noah Syndergaard....

“And now... They’ve chosen civil war with a player they once couldn’t live without.”

Harvey is starting on Friday in Milwaukee, even though he could have easily pitched at home, Wednesday afternoon.  Whatever.  Fans of the Metsies just want to win.  We don’t care who the heck is out there.

And suddenly the Mets are back to .500, 16-16, after winning 8 of 11, including 4-3 and 6-1 over the lowly Giants at Citi Field on Monday and Tuesday.  Zack Wheeler, who hasn’t pitched in two years because of Tommy John surgery, and complications after, had his finest outing Tuesday of the early season, a very encouraging sign.

--As for the Yankees, we have to go back to Sunday night’s game at Wrigley Field, after I posted earlier that evening.  The game ended after 1:00 a.m., local, the Yanks winning 5-4 in 18 innings, the teams combining for a major league record 48 strikeouts.

So the Yankees landed in Cincinnati at around 6:00 a.m., getting just a few hours’ sleep before heading to the ballpark for Monday night’s game, which they proceeded to win 10-4.

But they stumbled 5-3 on Tuesday as C.C. Sabathia had another poor outing.  After allowing only three runs in his first three starts combined, he has allowed 22 – all of them earned – in his last four.

Despite the Yankees winning 20 of 26, they trail Baltimore by a half-game, the Orioles 22-10 to New York’s 21-10.

--When the Mets traveled to Atlanta and their first look at new SunTrust Park, the team’s announcers couldn’t stop talking about how the ball seemed to carry so well, playing like the Braves’ first home in Atlanta, Fulton County Stadium, aka “The Launching Pad.”

Well Braves pitchers are rather distraught as they have a 5.61 ERA in home games thus far, as the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner wrote Tuesday.  And the weather hasn’t really turned warm yet.  The Braves’ ace, Julio Teheran, has given up all five of his home runs at home and has an 8.14 ERA in four home starts.

Former Brave Chipper Jones said he noticed the moment he first walked into the new park the difference with Turner Field, let alone other parks in the league.  He felt a whoosh of air in his face as he walked onto the field through a door in the center field wall.  Jones now wishes he were still playing.

--College Baseball Rankings (Baseball America, May 8)

1. Oregon State
2. Louisville
3. North Carolina
4. Texas Tech
5. TCU
6. Mississippi State
7. Florida
8. Long Beach State
9. Kentucky
10. Stanford

11. Clemson
12. Virginia
16. Wake Forest
22. St. John’s

NBA Playoffs

--What a terrific ending to the San Antonio-Houston game on Tuesday as the Spurs took a 3-2 lead with a 110-107 overtime win in San Antonio.

With Kawhi Leonard on the bench due to an injured right ankle, exiting before the end of regulation, Danny Green scored seven of his 16 points in overtime, and Manu Ginobili made perhaps the defensive play of the year, blocking James Harden’s last second attempt at tying up the game, Ginobili coming from behind to snatch the ball cleanly as Harden was releasing it.  For the player who is about to turn 40, it was the first time he had ever blocked a Harden field goal attempt.

Coach Gregg Popovich was ecstatic afterwards: “Manu reached back and gave us one of his Manu performances from past years.  He was a stud.”

Ginobili chipped in with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, including a big drive at the end of regulation.

--Washington-Boston, Game 5, series tied at 2-2, Wednesday.  Cleveland and Golden State await the winners of this one and San Antonio-Houston.

--LaVar Ball says his son is doing something Michael Jordan could never do: sell a shoe for $495

During a Fox Sports 1 show, “Undisputed,” co-host Shannon Sharpe advised LaVar that “Michael Jordan couldn’t command [$495] for shoes.”

“Because he ain’t Lonzo Ball, that’s why,” LaVar Ball said.  “Did he have his own brand coming in?  It’s a new era called the Ball era.”

Just make him stop.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

--My New York Rangers season came to an end in desultory fashion Tuesday at the Garden, as they lost to Ottawa 4-2, never recovering from a 2-0 early deficit, even if it was 3-2 until a late empty-netter by the Senators.

It’s all about ‘what might have been’ and the three crushing losses in the series; the leads not preserved.  Oh well.  As my fellow Rangers fan Ken P. and I agreed last night, we won’t give a damn about hockey again until about March.

I do have to add, though, that Ottawa’s captain, Erik Karlsson, was simply outstanding, playing on that heel with the two fractures...what a brilliant performer, the best of hockey for sure.

--Monday, Washington came through with a stunning 5-2 win in Pittsburgh to force a Game 7 tonight, Wednesday, back at the Verizon Center.  Despite my comment above, I’ll catch some of this one.

--Dan Steinberg / Washington Post

“The Wizards will be in Boston for Game 5.  The Caps will be at Verizon Center for Game 7.  The Orioles will be at Nationals Park for game whatever.  And Wednesday night could be the biggest night for Washington sports fans in at least a decade – and possibly a lot longer than that....

“Of course, remember that we had a nearly identical situation in 2015: The Wizards were playing a Game 5 on the road against a No. 1 seed, in a second-round series tied 2-2, and the Caps were playing a Game 7 against a longtime antagonist, in a second-round series tied 3-3. On the same night.  The second Wednesday in May, as it turns out.  The Wizards lost to the Hawks. The Capitals lost to the Rangers.  In retrospect, that was not the biggest D.C. sports night in a generation.”

Golf Balls

--This could be a fun The Players Championship this weekend.  Will Dustin Johnson complete his return with victory?  What of the young guns?  This tournament is also known for producing some real surprising winners, as well.

--The PGA Tour and FedEx announced a new 10-year contract that extends through 2027, a big deal for the tour and commissioner Jay Monahan, who had big shoes to fill when he replaced Tim Finchem at the start of the year.  The FedEx Cup will thus get even more emphasis over the course of a tour season, and this ensures the continuation of a $10 million bonus for the winner of the season-long competition.

While the FedEx competitions currently offer $35 million in bonus money, and no new figures were discussed in the extended deal, Monahan said, “We expect the Cup and the payout to increase significantly.”

The Tour is contemplating some big changes, such as moving the Players from May back to a March date, which it held prior to 2007, with a corresponding move by the PGA Championship from August to May, with perhaps a reduction in the FedEx Cup playoffs from four to three and the goal of wrapping up the major portion of the Tour season by Labor Day, to avoid competition from college and professional football.

But it doesn’t seem like these changes would take place certainly at least for another season or two, at the earliest.

--The current issue of Golf Digest has a list of the Greatest Public Courses:

1. Pebble Beach
2. Pacific Dunes (Bandon)
3. The Ocean Course (Kiawah) !!!
4. Whistling Straits
5. Shadow Creek (North Las Vegas)
6. Pinehurst No. 2
7. Bandon Dunes
8. Bethpage (Black)
9. Erin Hills...the site for this year’s U.S. Open.  A lot of us are anxious to see it.
10. Old MacDonald (Bandon)

12. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)

--Speaking of the U.S. Open...future sites....

2018 – Shinnecock Hills
2019 – Pebble Beach
2020 – Winged Foot (West)
2021 – Torrey Pines (South)
2022 – The Country Club (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
2023 – Los Angeles CC
2024 – Pinehurst No. 2
2025 – Oakmont

Premier League

Since Arsenal won the title for the 2003-04 season, the only three to win have been Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, save for Leicester City’s stunning championship last season.

This year it’s once again Chelsea, which for all intents and purposes wrapped up the PL title on Monday with a 3-0 over Middlesbrough, so the Blues are seven points clear with just three to play over Tottenham, who has essentially clinched second.

The final race, aside from the relegation battle I wrote of last time between Hull and Swansea, is for the final two Champions League spots.

1. Chelsea 35 – 84
2. Tottenham 35 – 77
3. Liverpool 36 – 70
4. Man City 35 – 69
5. Man U 35 – 65
6. Arsenal 34 – 63...plays Southampton on Wednesday

--In the Champions League semifinals, Juventus wrapped up its berth in the finals with a 2-1 win over Monaco on Tuesday, winning on aggregate 4-1.

Juventus will play the winner of tonight’s Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid second leg, but Real is a virtual lock, having won the initial match 3-0.

Always Dreaming

So I wrote last time, following the Kentucky Derby, that Always Dreaming sure seemed to be primed for the Preakness after seemingly winning the Derby with ease.

Well, Chuck Culpepper of the Washington Post noted in a piece that trainer Todd Pletcher moved him to Pimlico on Tuesday, which is a rare decision for Pletcher to bring a horse to the Preakness track so early, with 11 days to spare.

Nick Bush, the exercise rider for Always Dreaming, commented, “He’s got a lot in the tank.  I don’t think we’ve seen anywhere near the bottom.”

The thing is, the horse is very “lightly raced.”

Culpepper:

“While four of his Derby rivals tried the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November, among other races, Always Dreaming didn’t race from Aug. 20 to Jan. 25, as the owners switched trainers from Dominick Schettino to Pletcher in early September after a third-place showing in June at Belmont Park and a second-place showing in August at Saratoga.”

Pletcher didn’t race the horse until March 4 at Gulfstream Park, and threw all his chips for Derby qualification into April 1 and the Florida Derby, which Always Dreaming dominated.

Stuff

--USA Bobsled announced that Steven Holcomb probably died of pulmonary congestion, according to a preliminary finding from the Adirondack Medical Center.  The report was negative for drugs.  Holcomb died in his sleep.

--Boston College alum Steve D. pointed out that B.C. recruited more New Jersey natives on its 2016 football roster, 13, than Michigan did, 10, despite the clear Michigan to New Jersey pipeline.  [Steve is concerned about future bets....he did kick my butt in golf Monday, but nothing was on the line.]

--Brad K. passed along a story from Newser on deer being documented scavenging on human remains for the first time.  As reported by John Johnson:

“(Cameras picked up an unexpected visitor during an experiment), a deer. In fact, it’s the first time a deer has been documented scavenging on human bones, reports National Geographic. It actually happened on two separate occasions during the experiment at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility in San Marcos, Texas, a locale perhaps better known as a ‘body farm.’”

Yikes.

And Brad relayed another story from ABC News in the Orlando area where a 10-year-old girl was attacked by an alligator while sitting in shallow water at Lake Mary Jane last weekend.  She was somehow able to pry herself and is being treated for several puncture wounds.  [I then saw her on national TV.]

The girl’s father said she learned how to pry the animal’s jaws open from a trip to the Gatorland theme park; she poked the gator in the nostril. Brave kid!

Top 3 songs for the week 5/10/80: #1 “Call Me” (Blondie...ugh...)  #2 “Ride Like The Wind” (Christopher Cross)  #3 “Lost In Love” (Air Supply)...and...#4 “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc. ...this one hasn’t aged well...)  #5 “With You I’m Born Again” (Billy Preston & Syreeta)  #6 “Sexy Eyes” (Dr. Hook)  #7 “You May Be Right” (Billy Joel)  #8 “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” (Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes)  #9 “Another Brick In The Wall part II” (Pink Floyd...sorry, can’t stand this one...)  #10 “Biggest Part Of Me” (Ambrosia...I have bad memories over this one, involving heartbreak...So prior to graduation, I went with my frat bros to Myrtle Beach, where we sat around reminiscing, though not all of us were graduating days later...some had to take a few more courses...but I made it, barely...on to the next chapter in my life....)

The Players Championship Quiz Answers: 1) 2008 – Sergio Garcia, Spain; 2009 - Henrik  Stenson, Sweden; 2010 – Tim Clark, South Africa; 2011 – K.J. Choi, South Korea.  2) Craig Perks is the only winner from New Zealand, 2002.

Next Bar Chat, Monday.

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