It has become something of a civic parlor game, scouring Matt Harvey quotes for intrigue and hidden meanings. This time, though, he gets it right. This time, he gets it absolutely right.

“There were a lot of upset feelings,” Harvey said Sunday afternoon, referring to Chase Utley’s slide, and Ruben Tejada’s broken leg, and the brushfire that has overtaken this National League Division Series between the Mets and the Dodgers, and the response inside the New York clubhouse. “And we’ve got to go out and kind of do our talking by going out there and doing our best to beat them.”

Yes. That’s the best plan. That’s the smart way to exact revenge — the only way, really. There’s a lot of bloodlust in the streets now, Mets fans and their boiling bile, blind with rage over Utley, over the fact he wasn’t ruled out for interference, over the fact he wasn’t even ruled out, period, after the play went to review.

Joe Torre’s decision to suspend Utley for Games 3 and 4 will not quench the angry mobs, either; if anything, it screams the question: If it was a suspendable offense, why was it not a double play? It’s impossible to see this as anything other than a quintessential C.Y.A. maneuver from Major League Baseball.

But as far as the Mets — and Harvey — are concerned, this can no longer be an open subject, no matter what happens when MLB hears Utley’s quickie appeal Monday. Everyone wants to know: How will the Mets answer? Will there be a fastball aimed at a Dodger’s ribs — if not Utley’s, an appropriate substitute?

To put it simply: That would be stupid.

And Harvey clearly knows that.

“I think the most important thing is going out and doing my job and doing what’s best for the team,” Harvey said. “For me, in my mind, that’s going out and pitching a long game and being out there as long as I can and keeping zeros on the board.”

That is the only way to do this. Across the long season, across 162 games, there are certain times when players need to send messages, whether it’s to the opposing dugout or within their own clubhouse. Terry Collins always calls baseball a “self-policing” game. Sometimes these memos are sent in code; sometimes they’re as subtle as a heater under a chin.

But these are the playoffs. Every run is sacrosanct, every baserunner an opportunity to push yourself one step closer to the World Series — or to the first tee. You don’t do anything to sabotage that. You don’t gift a team a free baserunner. It’s bad policy. It’s bad strategy.

There are other ways to get your point across. There are hard tags. There are hard slides. But most meaningful of all is this: Win the game. Win the series. Send the Dodgers home. Send Utley off to his twilight baseball years having to endlessly answer for this kerfuffle.

Harvey? In so many ways, this is the most important moment of his professional life, one he has sought from the instant he showed up three years ago. It is a swing game in a best-of-five. It will be in front of his home fans, and as much as they might have been bothered by the innings-limit issue, as put off as they might have been by his no-show for last Monday’s workout … well, look. They’re fans. They want to forgive and forget.

And the atmosphere at Citi Field promises to be positively kinetic. Even if they won’t have Utley to kick around anymore.

Collins still refers to Harvey as his “ace,” despite the presence of Jacob deGrom, who sure looks willing to arm-wrestle for the title.

“I just want him to make sure today that he knew that, hey, look, he’s gotta go relax and make his pitches,” Collins said, “and worry about winning the baseball game.”

The other stuff — the outrage, the anger, the ice-cold (and understandable) need for vengeance? That’s for you to administer, from the stands, from your living room, in your car — even if you have to spread your venom around, even if Utley can’t be your target.

But that’s where this must all be contained: in the stands. You can afford to let loose with every ounce of loathing in your heart. The Mets have no such luxury. For them, winning isn’t just the best source of revenge.

It’s the only one.