As a Met fan who’s been consistently supportive of using caution when it comes to deployment of the young starting stable of dynamic arms that have emerged in Flushing the last few years, I find myself departing from that philosophy when Matt Harvey and his agent Scott Boras put up the 180 inning firewall over the last weekend.

Harvey’s at 166.1 IP with 25 games to go in the regular season. The Mets are five games up in the division. GM Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins have been diligently cognizant of the science and metrics tied to what may or may not overtax surgically-repaired arms that throw mid-90’s heat in between other varieties of pitches that bring less velocity but greater strain on the elbow and wrist.

Seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of a feel-good pennant race, Boras popped off publicly on Friday with a terse warning that the Mets organization was on the brink of allowing Harvey to violate a medically-based edict. The hard 180 of course would leave Harvey in position to make two, maybe three more starts. Sitting in a dugout in Miami, Harvey attempted to address the only-in-NY-type firestorm about 24 hours after the Boras blurt  and basically endorsed the position staked out by his hot-shot rep. A day later, Harvey sheepishly posted a declaration on Derek Jeter’s website that he’d pitch in the postseason if it comes to it without reconciling the conflict that may create with the 180 inning limit.

Harvey had Tommy John surgery in October 2013 to fix a partially torn elbow ligament in his throwing arm. He sat out all of the 2014 and has been solid in 2015 despite a lack of run support.

What makes the Boras line in the sand tough to handle at this moment is the arbitrary nature of 180 innings without consideration of what got Harvey to this point. Collins has focused on pitch counts and lifts all of his young starters in the 100-110 range. With Alderson’s heavy involvement, he’s using the skipped start and close monitoring of arm strength/pain/fatigue with input from the individual starters to make sure his three (now four – with Matz) young fireballers are feeling good.

This Met team is perhaps a year ahead of schedule thanks to the Cespedes pickup. It has a shot to go all the way. Harvey has every right to protect a huge payday that’s looming – but not fully available to him until after the 2018 season. What perturbs the Met fan – and what caused the media firestorm of hostility to the assertion by Harvey/Boras is that 180 is just a number. It’s not a cliff’s edge. Not when you’re in a position to do something special as a team. Other considerations that have been and will be deployed in Harvey’s assignments the rest of the way can mitigate or allow for some modification of a hard cap.

Foremost is an honest dialogue about how Harvey feels after Tuesday night’s big start in DC and what may or may not come after.

What’s blatantly unfair is when Boras – or newspaper columnists Tom Boswell and Michael Powell – paint Alderson and the Mets brass as villains for trying to squeeze too much out of the turnip.

The Mets are finessing a unique dilemma while layering some instinct and practicality on top of the guidance from a medical doctor who fixes arms for a living but doesn’t have full understanding of one’s limitations once they’re repaired.

I think back to that 40-degree night at Wrigley in May when I sat in the LF bleachers and watched Harvey get yanked at 100 pitches. #33 was cruising but Collins knew another inning might put Harvey’s reconstructed elbow in possible peril given the conditions. The bullpen failed and Harvey’s gem thru 7 was wasted. The short leash has been in effect in spot after spot to get Harvey to where he is now.

Met fans would be fine I think if Harvey simply says his arm is dead – or doesn’t feel right. But to turn the 180 cap into a beef with the team is backfiring badly. Especially when his mule-like proclamations for the last 12 months have all been about not wanting to be babied.

There’s no book on how to do this but the Mets are taking the correct approach here. I love how Alderson has been assertive in sharing his vision on the topic even if it means offending the Dark Knight. The way the last five weeks have gone for the Mets, I think Harvey will find it irresistible to do anything but repudiate the ultimatum and participate meaningfully in what looks to be an Amazin’ home stretch. And if he doesn’t, I believe the regret he feels will prompt deep consideration of whether Boras stuck his nose in a place it didn’t belong.