Dillon Gee learns to deal with fatigue
New York Mets starting pitcher Dillon Gee (35) and catcher Josh Thole (30) confer on the mound as the Atlanta Braves had the bases loaded in the fourth inning of a baseball game. (Sept. 18, 2011) Credit: AP
Dillon Gee had a 5.91 ERA in the final two months of last season and admitted that fatigue played a role in his limp to the finish line. But after taking October off, Gee was back on a mound again. This time, though, it was in Taiwan as part of the starting rotation for Major League Baseball's international barnstorming team.
"Even though I wasn't in pitching shape, I wanted to win just as bad as anyone else," Gee said last week.
Gee allowed one run in five innings in his only appearance against Taiwan, then shut himself down for the rest of the offseason. The trick now, with Gee already in Port St. Lucie, Fla., is to get himself strong enough to avoid the late-season meltdown he suffered a year ago.
As the Mets' rotation currently stacks up, presumably with a healthy Johan Santana, Gee figures to be No. 5.
Last season, Gee's ERA climbed as his number of innings did. After a 3.76 ERA in the first half, Gee pitched to a 5.25 ERA after the All-Star break, and it's no mystery to him why that happened in his first full major-league season.
"As the months went on, my stuff just got kind of bland," said Gee, who went 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 27 starts and three relief appearances. "I feel that comes from fatigue. As soon as your legs get tired, you start overcompensating one way or the other, maybe relaxing a little bit. That throws off your release point, and in the end, the movement on your pitches.
"Earlier in the year, when I was fresh, you could see a big difference in the video that I watched.''
Gee turns 26 April 28, and a crucial element of his conditioning is designed to deal with the partially torn labrum inside his right shoulder. He suffered the injury in 2009 but avoided surgery, and the maintenance for that is essential. It also would help if Gee is able to rediscover his curveball, which he abandoned last season. Perhaps the biggest help, however, might just be knowing what to expect this time.
"I've had bouts of inconsistency where I jumped a level because it's a different thing you never experienced," Gee said. "My first full year in the big leagues was a long season for me. I wasn't used to that. It's only a month longer than minor leagues, but mentally, it's challenging. Every start, you have to focus so much harder, and that drains you. So I think learning how to deal with that and knowing what to expect this next year, I look for nothing but improvement."
