Gee, like Mets, trying to get untracked
The first half of the season never did feel so far away for Dillon Gee. The Gee of the first half typified the Mets of the first half: low-to-moderate expectations followed by an unexpected resiliency that made fans, at least, entertain hopes of a significant September. If it seems like an eternity ago, it's for good reason.
Tuesday marks Gee's first start since July 7 and, if the All-Star break-bolstered dropoff wasn't unsettling enough, the memory of his last two games will certainly do the trick. After going 7-0 in his first 13 starts, Gee went 1-3 in his last four, including two six-inning blowups on July 2 against the Yankees and July 7 against the Dodgers. His ERA jumped from a season-low 2.86 on June 15 to 3.76 after his game against the Dodgers.
"I don't know if I get complacent," he said. " . . . You kind of lose focus when you go out there and you've done pretty well and all of a sudden the sixth inning comes around. You lose focus and make a couple of bad pitches and that's the game."
If anything, Gee serves as a decent representation of where the Mets are now. They've dropped six of eight and are below .500 again at 47-48, well out of the wild-card race. And with the trade deadline looming, the Mets might soon have to put themselves in the unenviable position of becoming sellers.
Gee's goals, too, are humbled.
"I'm trying to get back into the groove still," he said of being the last man in the rotation to get the post-All Star Game start. "It has a little bit of an effect because you just don't feel as sharp. You haven't seen hitters in awhile."
