Just Mets

Dillon Gee seemingly has no margin for error.

His last start came on May 3 and was then sidelined with a strained groin muscle. Upon being disabled, the Mets decided to call up a pitcher many have viewed would ultimately replace him in the rotation anyway, Noah Syndergaard.

But Gee was essentially deemed healthy after his rehab start for the St. Lucie Mets on May 21. However, with an off-day coming a week later, the Mets decided to send him back on rehab assignment with the Binghamton Mets on May 27, which delayed their need to convert to a six-man rotation until Wednesday night in San Diego.

Having not pitched in a whole week and only three times since May 21, Gee might have been both too strong and very rusty in his first big league appearance in a month.

Gee allowed seven runs – four earned – on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout in only four innings on Wednesday night, falling to 0-3 with a 4.46 ERA and ending his streak of 51 consecutive starts of at least five innings.

He was hurt by poor defense, including a bad throw himself to the plate which allowed a run to score. But he was often very, very deliberate even when runners weren’t on-base. Like last year when he struggled, he seemed to abandon his change-up when he got into trouble (which was seemingly in every inning), and relied too heavily on his two-seam fastball which was getting way too much of the plate all night long.

He was throwing harder than he usually does which suggests he may have been too fresh, but even so he’s not the kind of pitcher who can control a ballgame with one pitch. It’s been emphasized time and time again he must use his entire arsenal to be successful. He was doing that in his last three starts before going on the disabled list, but was not doing it enough on Wednesday night.

When Gee is at his best, that change-up is a huge weapon for him. Its a great pitch especially against left-handed pitching, and he then has an ability to use his curve to go back in the other direction.

That was not the pitcher on display last night.

Despite the bad start, Gee seemed completely unworried about his performance, speaking to reporters after the game.

“I’ve had bad outings before and I’ll probably have them again,” Gee explained. “But it’s what you do in between that matters and I think I’ll be fine.”

The in-between part could last a while for Gee, however.

After Gee’s bad start on Wednesday, Terry Collins hinted that with another off-day forthcoming on Monday, the Mets could skip Gee’s spot in the rotation again.

“If I say so, it’s a headline,” Collins said of the plan to potentially skip Gee. “So, I’m not going to say so just yet.”

In a way, it can’t be unexpected his performances will be uneven. The preparation and routine for him remains in flux which mounting uncertainty with each passing day.

And, so it goes for Gee.