Strasburg to Matt Harvey: Take it Easy

When Matt Harvey went down with an elbow injury that turned into Tommy John surgery, Mets fans were rightly left chanting, “Why do these things always happen to us?” Well, it’s not only us. After just 12 starts in 2010, the most hyped prospect of our generation also succumbed to Tommy John surgery. And now Stephen Strasburg has some advice for Matt Harvey: take it easy, man.

Harvey has been making noise about coming back late this season. But Strasburg told the New York Post that Harvey should not push it, regardless of how good he thinks he feels.

“I learned the hard way,’’ Strasburg said on Sunday. “It can flip on you. You’ll feel great one day and the next day it’s terrible. The best advice I got was, ‘Look where you were at the start of the month and then at the end of the month. Don’t look at where you were yesterday.’”

It is not clear if Strasburg has actually spoken to Matt Harvey, but he relayed a message to their mutual agent that he’s there for him.

“I told Scott (Boras), if Matt ever needs anything, call me,’’ Strasburg said. “I’ve been through it. I know by judging how hard he works he should be, hopefully, fine.’’

Strasburg is a Tommy John success story, having stayed healthy and pitched well in the two-plus seasons since his return. Everybody is different, but given the experiences of Strasburg and others, there is every reason to believe that Harvey can pick up where he left off last season as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.