Lately, Matt Harvey‘s been in more magazines than Gwenyth Paltrow.

His latest appearance on the periodical shelf comes in an issue of Men’s Journal. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say:

On waiting to buy a Manhattan apartment: “No matter what, New York is now my home. I could buy a place now, but I’ve gotta wait for that $200 million contract. If I’m going to buy an apartment, it has to be the best apartment in the city.”

On his social life philosophy: “I have a 48-hour rule. No drinking two days before a start. But those other days? Yes, I’m gonna go out. If I was locked up in my house all week, I don’t know what I’d be like on the baseball field.”

On living in the East Village: “I’m young, I’m single. I want to be in the mix.”

On Derek Jeter: “That guy is the model. I mean, first off, let’s just look at the women he’s dated. Obviously, he goes out — he’s meeting these girls somewhere — but you never hear about it. That’s where I want to be.”

On being a savior: “I love the idea of coming into a struggling franchise and seeing if I can help them win. First off, I hate to lose. At anything. Secondly, who doesn’t want to be the guy to help turn something around?”

It’s great that Harvey is getting PR, and I’m sure the Mets’ PR department either has something to do with it, or has given him their blessing. New York is all about celebrity – and Harvey (by far) isn’t the first Met or Yankee to appear in a magazine.

But I’d prefer it if he exhibited more of a businesslike demeanor. It’s possible that all of these off-the-field endeavors will turn into distractions if he goes through tough times on the mound. After all, the sports media loves to build up young stars, only to bring them down (see: Johnny Manziel).

Mets blogger (and USA Today writer) Ted Berg has a section of his site called “Embarrassing photos of Cole Hamels.” I wonder if a Phillies blogger is compiling the same of Matt Harvey?

Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe I’m just unwittingly becoming a curmudgeon as I slip into middle age. I’d just like to hear more of how he hates to lose, and wants to help turn the Mets around (the last quote listed above), and less about his dating life.

How do you feel about it? Like it? Don’t like it? Don’t care?

With one series left before the All-Star Break, the Mets have a chance to finish the first half of their season on a high note. They have to play the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Bucs had a great first half, but have struggled of late having lost 6 of 10. The Mets, on the other hand, have won 7 of their last 10.

Most recently, they wrapped up their first road sweep of the San Francisco Giants since 1994. Here’s the Mets’ roster from that strike-shortened season. (And they’re still paying Bobby Bonilla, amirite??)

What has been the difference in the Mets during this recent stretch of better baseball? The will to win? Emotion? A football mentality? Or maybe it’s just a matter of finding better players to replace the other players who weren’t performing.

Is their recent play a sign of things to come, or is it simply a blip on the radar screen?

They’ve also been much better on the road than at home this year.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking away the moments leading up to the first All-Star Game in Queens since 1964. Should Marlon Byrd have joined David Wright and Matt Harvey in the Midsummer Classic?

Harvey will likely make an appearance in the game, whether he starts or not. The Mets will skip his spot in the rotation during the Pittsburgh series. The reason for this is threefold. First, he’s on pace for 240 innings. He threw 160 total last year between the minors and majors. That’s a huge jump for most young pitchers. Second, he’s been pitching with a blister on his finger lately. And third, it will allow him to throw 25-30 pitches or so in the ASG.

And lastly, Darryl Strawberry thinks Tim Tebow is a “real man.”

That’s all for today. Happy All-Star Break, and have a great weekend.

The All-Star rosters were announced yesterday, and two Mets will have the honor of playing on their home turf in the Midsummer Classic. David Wright was voted in by the fans, and Matt Harvey was selected to the NL club.

Now that Harvey has been selected (a no-brainer), the next question is, will he be the starting pitcher for the National League?

Wednesday was an eventful day for our New York Mets. Zack Wheeler made his debut, the Mets traded Collin McHugh for Eric Young Jr., recalled Andrew Brown, and designated Collin Cowgill for assignment. When you look at it, the Mets exchanged two guys named Collin for two former Rockies.

Wheeler is scheduled to debut on June 18.

Zack Wheeler looked sharp against Tacoma in his final tune-up before his imminent major league debut on June 18. Limited to 85 pitches, Wheeler went 5.2 innings, allowing a run on a solo homer by Carlos Peguero, walking 2 and striking out 7. Peguero’s homer was the only hit surrendered by the lanky right-hander.

He even impressed Tacoma’s manager, former Mets catcher John Stearns.

“He looked very good tonight: Those first five innings, he was just outstanding,” he said. “Throwing mid-90s with his fastball and two or three other pitches — he’s got the breaking ball down in the zone and the fastball up — he’s going to be a big league No. 1 or 2 starter for a long time, in my opinion.”

Wheeler’s numbers are eerily similar to Matt Harvey‘s numbers before his promotion last year. And not just his season numbers, but his career minor league numbers. Here’s further analysis about their similarities.

Rafael Montero has been promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to take Wheeler’s place. Montero has been dominant this year at Double-A Binghamton, as he has been at every level in the minors. He got a spot start for the 51s earlier this year, and pitched very well, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in 6.2 innings before the bullpen blew the game (get used to it, kid).

In what has been a dirge of a season thus far, we Mets fans need to cling to whatever positivity comes our way (for the sake of our mental health), and these two player moves are reason for hope.

Yes, it’s been said there is no such thing as a can’t-miss pitching prospect, but I’m allowing myself to be optimistic about both of these pitchers. Wheeler’s numbers combined with his plus stuff make it likely that he will succeed in the major leagues.

Meanwhile, Montero’s numbers are outstanding – even better than Wheeler’s in some categories. They say he doesn’t throw as hard as Wheeler and Harvey, but kind of lives in the 92-94 range with excellent command. That’s why his strikeout to walk ratio is nearly 6:1. His WHIP in three seasons of minor league ball is below 1.00.

Now he’ll get a true test of his abilities in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

We all remember the can’t-miss guys who missed (Bill Pulsipher, Paul Wilson, Yusmeiro Petit – mentioned in the article linked above). They had good minor league numbers too. But there have been hits as well (Harvey, Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman).

The Mets are counting on the Wheelers and Monteros of the world to solidify their pitching staff for years to come. Let’s hope they live up to the billing.

Update: Terry Collins says Montero is on an innings limit this year – he’ll probably be capped at about 150. He’s thrown 73 innings so far this year. So we may not see him in September, but maybe next year.

On Saturday, the Mets more than made up for their two consecutive rainouts by playing 20 innings of baseball. They fell to the Miami Marlins, 2-1 (Box Score).

So, the Mets have lost 6 games in a row, and have fallen to 14-23, 6.5 games behind the NL East leading Atlanta Braves here on May 16^th. Besides Matt Harvey, the starting rotation has been horrible, besides Bobby Parnell, the bullpen has been unreliable, and the Mets’ offense, which lit up opponents the first two weeks of the season, has gone colder than Jeffery Loria’s Grinch-like heart.

This has left even the most loyal and upbeat Mets fans in a funk, and has even prompted some to ask for divine intervention. But it can’t be this bad all year, can it?

Instead of another Mets blog post about how bad this team is, let’s try to find some rays of hope in this otherwise gloomy pallor of baseball.

Sure, the Mets lost last night, but let’s keep talking about Matt Harvey!  He’s a shining beacon of superstardom who lights up a murky sea of mediocrity.  Yes, when Harvey pitches, he not only stifles the opposition, but he seems to make the Mets a better team.

Fangraphs wins the award for best use of animated GIFs for baseball analysis.  Look at how remarkably similar Harvey’s pitches are until about halfway to the plate.  His curve has a little loop to it, but his fastball, slider, and changeup look the same until they dart off like a Blue Angel breaking formation.  When Harvey has the kind of command of his pitches he did on Tuesday night, he’s unhittable.  It’s that simple.

With Zack Wheeler seemingly righting his personal ship at Triple-A Las Vegas, it’s only a matter of time (and money) until the young right-hander is recalled to the big club.  Along with Harvey, 2013 could turn into the Summer of Aces.  Ron Darling talked to Mets Merized Online about the difference between the two young pitchers.

Here are a couple of Mets Twitter recaps from this week, including Harvey’s near-perfect game.  I’ve needed to take some time off from reading Mets Twitter during ballgames for the sake of my sanity, but fortunately, there are still some funny, smart people who partake. (@MetsToday and @PaulJFesta, btw)

Last night, Justin Turner played in the outfield for the first time in the majors.  Not to take anything away from Turner, who’s hitting .372/.391/.442 in 47 plate appearances, but that pretty much sums up the state of the Mets outfield.

By the way, has anyone noticed how hot Carlos Gomez is these days?  The hitter with the lifetime .697 OPS has a 1.106 mark this year.  Something clicked for the previously light-hitting outfielder.  It’s a shame that these days, as I write something like this, I have to push back the voices in my head that wonder if that something comes in pill or syringe form.  Hopefully not.

In any event, Mets Today authors never need PEDs.  We run on coffee.

Have a great end of your week and LGM.