Terry Collins spoke with Hall of Famer John Smoltz on Thursday and the pair discussed Matt Harvey’s struggles in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
"I said, 'Is there really this Tommy John hangover?' And he said, 'Absolutely,'" Collins said. "I'm going to relay that to Matt. And, if I need to, I'm going to have John Smoltz relay that to Matt."
Harvey has a 7.20 ERA in his past four starts and has allowed eight home runs over that span.
Smoltz missed the 2000 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
"One of the things that we're seeing with Matt Harvey, that you see sometimes with stars, it's the first time there's ever [been] a bump in the road," Collins said. "How are they going to handle it? This is his first bump. It's been easy for Matt Harvey. Now he's going to be tested. This guy has got the makeup to get through it.
"Did we ever think there was going to be a situation where he would go through what he's going through?" Collins continued. "No, because he's always been above that stuff. You look at last September, when he threw that little simulated game out here that day -- 95 [mph]. Eleven months out of surgery, he's 95 [mph]. And you're just shaking your head, saying, 'Nobody's done that.' And then he starts out the year with pinpoint control, great stuff, and you're saying, 'God, nobody does that.'
"So now, all of a sudden, he's flattened out and the panic is setting in like, 'Oh, what's wrong?' And I don't think there's anything wrong. I just think we've got to be able to work our way through this whole thing."