Birthday Stars

      If March 27th is your birthday, you're in very good company. You share the day with two of baseball's brightest young stars -- Mets ace Matt Harvey and Giants catcher Buster Posey. It took just a year-and-a-half for Harvey (left) to establish himself among the game's elite starters. Several times last season, en route to starting the All Star Game, he carried a no-hitter late into the game, as was the case on May 7th when he faced the White Sox. More than talent, fans and the media were taken by his brash attitude -- something the Mets have lacked. And while he'll miss most (probably, all) of 2014 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, he's the biggest reason Mets fans have the sense that better days are ahead for the club.
Posey (below) has already overcome a serious injury -- making it all the way back from a broken leg and torn ankle ligaments from a 2011 home plate collision with the Marlins' Scott Cousins. The next season, he led the NL in hitting and earned MVP honors as the Giants won their second World Series in three years. The ugliness of Posey's injury -- and the loss of one of the game's best at his position for well over 100 games -- gave momentum to the process of limiting such contact.


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