John Harper, SNY.tv | Twitter |

When the news broke on Tuesday that Matt Harvey is signing with the Angels, my first thought was, well, at least Anaheim is closer to Los Angeles than San Diego.

It was only last April, remember, when Harvey, already relegated to Mickey Callaway's bullpen by then, had such a craving to party in LA that he hopped a ride from San Diego, where the Mets were playing a weekend series.

To which Sandy Alderson essentially threw up his hands and said enough is enough.

You remember the quote, right? It was a classic Alderson dry-wit zinger, in response to being asked if he was upset by the Post's Page Six report that Harvey had gone to such lengths to attend a celebrity event in LA.

"Usually I get upset if the report is unexpected," then-GM Alderson said. "(So) I guess the short answer is no."

Only a rim shot was missing.

Such is the legacy Harvey left behind, after Alderson exiled him to Cincinnati shortly thereafter.

He is forever to be remembered as a polarizing figure -- the most electric of pitching talents who captivated New York in a Gooden-esque manner, but also a celebrity-obsessed personality whose diva behavior was deserving of the resentment it created among teammates and fans.

All of that, of course, is why Harvey's signing with the Angels matters more in these parts than it really should -- or would for any other pitcher whose ceiling is now that of a No. 3 starter.

Call it the Kardashian factor, if you will.

And, let's be honest, we're all suckers for a great comeback story, or even the possibility of one.

So, yes, it will be fascinating to see if the Angels were right to bet $11 million guaranteed on Harvey's talent for the 2019 season, and up to $14 million if he makes a season's worth of starts.

Then there's the morbid fascination angle -- watching to see if hanging out in LA will lead him to some of Harvey's old party tricks, like not showing up at the ballpark on any given day because some supermodel girlfriend broke up with him.

I'd like to think the guy has grown up some after everything he's been through in recent years. I'd like to think he'll be a better teammate than he was as a Met, when he made it clear he preferred the company of Henrik Lundqvist to anyone in his own clubhouse.

In truth, however, none of his off-the-field shenanigans were the reason for his downfall. He'd still be the toast of the town if not for the injuries that robbed him of his brilliance, and, who knows, there's a chance the thoracic outlet syndrome injury was the result of Harvey pushing himself to 216 innings pitched in his first year back from Tommy John surgery.

Nobody really knows, and just because Scott Boras wanted to shut him down at 180 innings doesn't mean there's any cause-and-effect regarding the TOS.

Still, Harvey will always deserve to be commended for ignoring his agent's wishes and helping pitch the Mets to the World Series that year -- even if it was partly a response to the outrage he felt in his own clubhouse at the time.

Whatever the cause, the TOS injury, which necessitated the removal of a rib, seems largely responsible for turning Harvey into a mediocre pitcher. His stuff has never been as sharp, especially his slider, and while he hit 95-96 on the radar gun with his fastball, it doesn't have the late life that once made him so overpowering.

Nevertheless, there were signs with the Reds late last season, or more than two years after the TOS surgery, that Harvey was getting to be an effective starter again.

In eight of his final nine starts, for example, he gave up no more than three runs -- and in six of those starts no more than two runs.

Only once, however, did he go more than six innings in any of those starts, and like so many pitchers in today's game, Harvey has been much more vulnerable when facing hitters a third time.

With all of that in mind, $11 million -- at minimum -- sounds like a lot, but the Angels are desperate for starting pitching, and on a one-year deal it offers at least some chance of being a good gamble, though going to the American League won't help Harvey.

For the artist formerly known as the Dark Knight, meanwhile, it's hundreds of millions of dollars shy of the contract he once imagined signing this offseason as a free agent. And perhaps a few time zones away as well, if he was indeed set on realizing his dream of playing for the Yankees, the team he rooted for as a kid growing up in Connecticut.

But he's not in Cincinnati anymore either. He's relatively close to the bright lights of a big city again, and if that was a factor at all, it raises the obvious question:

Has he grown up enough to keep his priorities in order and his head on straight?

After all the drama in New York, it's hard not to be cynical, to say the least. Which, of course, is exactly what makes Harvey still a more compelling figure than anyone with a lifetime record of 41-44 really should be.

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