Gee seems to be back on track

Perhaps it's because it seems like so little seems to go right for the Mets these days, but Tuesday, the prospect of Dillon Gee's first post-All Star start was met with what could best be described as cautious pessimism.

First there was Gee who, on Monday, said that his 11 days off made him "feel like I haven't pitched in months."

Then, there was manager Terry Collins who, when asked before the game about Gee's play, said forthrightly that, "there are stages. Your arm gets a little tired. Your body gets a little tired."

He added that (cautious) nod of approval: "I have all the confidence in the world that Dillon can, if not tonight, then next start, [get back to] the same kind of stuff, the same kind of concentration he had when he first got here."

As it turns out, both of them needn't have worried. Gee was more than capable in his first start since July 7, allowing two earned runs (including a long home run to Lance Berkman) in seven innings and leading the Mets to their third win in the last nine games.

Gee faced the minimum through four (the only baserunner, a walk to Jon Jay in the fourth, was erased on Albert Pujols' 6-4-3 double play). He didn't allow a hit until David Freese's soft liner took a tough-luck deflection off his glove with one out in the fifth.

"I was a little nervous coming into this start because of the 11 days off," Gee said. "My bullpen sessions leading up to this outing were not good . . . I don't know. Something clicked."

Perhaps most significantly, Gee retired the side in order in the sixth -- an almost unheard of occurrence for him in recent weeks. Gee's last two starts -- losses to the Dodgers and Yankees -- have culminated in sixth-inning blowups. He allowed five sixth-inning runs to the Dodgers and four to the Yankees. Coming into Tuesday night, his sixth inning ERA was 15.19 in 10 2/3 innings.

The problem, Gee and Collins agreed, was a mix of complacency and fatigue. As it turns out, the time off may have helped reinvigorate Gee, who Collins said faced a similar midseason swoon in the minors last year.

"Last year, I saw him midseason in [Triple-A] Buffalo . . . and he looked like there was a fatigue factor starting to settle in," Collins said. "Midseason he looked like he was fatigued a little bit and all of a sudden, the first part of August, he just took off and ended up having a great year."

It was enough to punch him a ticket to the majors, where Gee went 2-2 with a sterling 2.18 ERA in five September starts. Despite seeming seasoned, Collins underlined the fact that Gee was involved in his first full major league season and his body was still getting accustomed to the daily grind.

"That stuff can take its toll on you," Collins said. "It's a lot of innings, it's a lot of travel, it's a lot of work that there's really no way to prepare for."