Harvey's original story was he was caught in traffic, but by the time he actually showed up he just said he screwed up. Not very good timing on Harvey's part, with the way things between him and the Mets went toward the end of the season.
Not to mention the distraction is causes right before the playoffs, via Newsday:
"Obviously, today was not the greatest," said Harvey, who was dressed in sweats. "I know we had the mandatory workout and the last thing I ever want to do is not be here for my team. Basically, there's no excuse. I screwed up. I wasn't here. I showed up a little late. I've talked to Sandy [Alderson], talked to Terry, and my teammates. I've apologized to them and apologized to everybody. They understand."Of course the media is getting blamed for making too much out of it. Did they? Probably, but when you try to get all of the attention you can, you have to understand that the attention is going to be there when you screw up too.