Mets GM Sandy Alderson yesterday "let slip" that the team may have lined up P Matt Harvey for the second game at Citi Field "in part for the potential bump in ticket sales," according to David Lennon of NEWSDAY. A source said that Harvey was "penciled in for April 14 pretty much from the start of spring training." Lennon notes with the home opener a sellout every year, it "made financial sense" to have Harvey behind P Jacob deGrom in the rotation. Alderson said that Harvey "'probably' has more eyeball appeal than deGrom, and talked about 'secondary considerations' when setting up the rotation." Asked if ticket sales were one of those considerations, Alderson said, "Could be." Lennon writes the Mets also "have a number of baseball reasons to provide cover for what otherwise might come off as simply deploying Harvey as box-office bait" (NEWSDAY, 3/25). In N.Y., Tim Rohan notes Alderson at times has been "fairly blunt in stating that the Mets needed to put more fans in the seats at Citi Field." The Mets sold more than 3.1 million tickets in '09 -- Citi Field's inaugural season -- but by '13, that figure "had fallen by a third" to 2.1 million. That ranked 21st among MLB teams. The Mets' average attendance in '14 "did tick upward," but only by 162 fans per game (N.Y. TIMES, 3/25). SNY’s Chris Carlin said he understands the reason behind holding Harvey back for the second home game, but added, "It’s a little misguided because you have a fan base that frankly has been waiting and waiting and waiting to get excited. You want to give them a little juice. Matt Harvey on Opening Day at Citi Field gives it a little juice.” Carlin: “You never want the perception among your fans that you’re trying to get the most money out of them that you can when they have been an exceptionally patient bunch over the last few years” (“Loud Mouths,” SNY, 3/24). But in N.Y., Andy Martino notes ticket sales "are a reasonable motivation" to hold Harvey out of the home opener. Martino: "Why wouldn't a business want to maximize profits?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/25).
