The Mets made headlines over the weekend when they suspended starting pitcher Matt Harvey. According to reports, Harvey didn't show up for Saturday's game; Harvey claims he had a migraine, but the Mets are skeptical. Because Harvey didn't follow protocol—he texted a coaching staff member instead of the head trainer—the Mets suspended him three games without pay. That comes out to $84,016.39, or one expensive migraine.
Or was it? It's also being reported that Mets team officials sent security staff to check on Harvey Saturday night. From the New York Times:
According to the team spokesman Jay Horwitz, the visit was out of concern for Harvey’s welfare. However, a person close to Harvey, who said he was not authorized to speak publicly about the pitcher, said Harvey wondered whether the security officials showed up at his apartment door because the team did not believe his alibi — that he was in bed with a migraine.
That is amazing. Jon Heyman reported that Harvey greeted the security staff at the door in his pajamas around 10:00 pm. If I had to guess, I'd say Harvey is full of it. He texted his pitching coach to say he wasn't coming to the game, but only after the coach texted him because he didn't show up on time. My main point, however, is that this whole story reminds me of two episodes from The Office.
In "The Secret" (Season 2, Episode 13), Oscar calls in sick, but Dwight isn't buying it. Empowered by Michael, he spends the whole day investigating the apparent illness. He eventually catches Oscar returning to his house from a shopping trip with Gil. Dwight agrees not to report him in exchange for "one great, big, giant favor, redeemable by him at a time and place of his choosing."
In "The Meeting" (Season 6, Episode 2), Darryl claims to have broken his ankle by falling off a warehouse ladder. In this scenario, Toby is definitely the Mets pitching coach.
Toby and Dwight stake out Darryl's house and discover he broke his ankle horsing around in the warehouse, but not before confusing Darryl's sister for Darryl and destroy their garbage cans.
If the Mets security personnel are reading this, here is Dwight's advice for you in the future.
"There are several different ways to tell if a perp is lying. The liar will avoid direct eye contact. The liar will cover part of his or her face with his hand, especially the mouth. The liar will perspire."
Also in "The Secret."
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.