Strasburg to Harvey: Take it slow

— -- Stephen Strasburg has some advice for young New York Mets ace Matt Harvey:

When it comes to recovery from Tommy John surgery, Harvey should take it slow.

"I learned the hard way," Strasburg told The New York Post on Sunday.

Strasburg had reconstructive surgery after blowing out his pitching elbow near the end of his rookie season with the Washington Nationals in 2010. He returned to make five starts at the end of the 2011 season.

Harvey, who had surgery Oct. 22, is likely to miss the 2014 season.

The Nationals ace said taking the recovery day-by-day is not necessarily the best idea.

"It can flip on you," Strasburg told the Post. "You'll feel great one day, and the next day it's terrible. The best advice I got was, 'Look where you were at the start of the month and then at the end of the month. Don't look at where you were yesterday.'"

Harvey and Strasburg have the same agent, and Strasburg has told Scott Boras that he would be happy to help the Mets pitcher, who went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA and started the All-Star Game last season before going on the disabled list in August.

Strasburg said it's more important to be smart about recovery from Tommy John surgery than it is to work hard to return.

"It's a different beat," Strasburg said. "Recovery is huge, once you learn how long it takes for your body to recover and how often you need to let your body relax and just get back to full health.

"That's when you can really accomplish the durable things that pitchers do, the James Shields of the game, who do it year in and year out."