Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler “Tired”

Life for a major league pitcher is not all it is cracked up to be. Sure, you get to make millions of dollars and get the adoration of millions of people and date supermodels, but apparently you get tired easily. And that is the case for Mets phenoms Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler.

“I’m getting pretty tired but so is everyone,” Harvey said after losing to the Tigers this past weekend.

“Yeah, I’m tired, but so is everyone in here,” Zack Wheeler echoed on Sunday.

It is not surprising that these two young men are tired. After throwing nearly 170 innings last season between the majors and the minors, Harvey has already thrown 178 this year with more than a month left. Wheeler threw 149 innings last year and is up to 138 this season.

What is surprising is that Harvey is admitting it. He is such a tough guy — “one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around,” said Terry Collins — I didn’t think Harvey would ever admit to any weakness. But Harvey sounds like a guy ready to overcome it.

“You have to work through it and you have to deal with it. It’s a long season. You have to figure out how to get things done,” Harvey said.

As for Wheeler, he will proceed with caution.

“You don’t want to let being tired mess up your mechanics. If you do that, it can mess up your arm. So you have to keep the mind-set that you are strong out there.”

While Collins plans to limit their innings by giving them occasional extra days off and keep them fresh by cutting back on their off-day workouts, he does not want to shut them down before the season ends. He said it is important for young players to learn how to work their way through the grind of an entire season.

Of course, this will not be done at the expense of their long-term health. But if they are tired and not injured, expect Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler to pitch late into September.