23
2011
Dillon Gee: Youngster Ready To Help Out In Any Capacity
An article by 
It would have been difficult to recognize Dillon Gee at Citi Field Kids Day had he not been wearing his No. 35 jersey. He was sporting a dark beard and doesn’t exactly have the impressive frame of a Mike Pelfrey. But similar to Josh Thole, here’s another young guy who will do whatever it takes to help out the ballclub anyway he can.
In addition to announcing Pelfrey as the Opening Day starter, Terry Collins introduced Gee as a Major League quality pitcher. Whether or not that means Gee will be in the rotation to start the season is uncertain. But Collins expects Gee to make an impact with the big club at some point in 2011.
“I don’t know anything for sure,” said Gee. “I just try to prepare myself to be ready for whatever they throw my way. I’ll go in there and pitch the best I can and let them make decisions after that.”
Gee was 2-2 with a sub-3.00 ERA in five starts late last season. Still, he is unsure if he made enough of an impression. He just tried to go out there each start and do his best.
“You do what you can to stick around, and hopefully it works,” said Gee. “I think it was great to get up here and experience the whole big league atmosphere and come in and get my feet wet a little bit.”
The recent signings of Chris Young and Chris Capuano may impede Gee’s road to the majors in the early part of this season, but he said he will not let that affect him. If Capuano projects as the long reliever, Gee may be thrown into action as the fifth starter.
“I try not to look ahead that far,” said Gee. “I look at what I can control today. When you want to get the best out of people, you make them compete, and that’s what going to happen. I’ll do anything I can to help the team. If they see me in Buffalo as helping the team, then that’s what I’ll do to the best of my ability.”
A possible plan moving forward with Gee is for him to get as much exposure as possible in AAA. If the Mets start the season with a rotation featuring Pelfrey, Dickey, Niese, Young and Capuano, Gee becomes the primary measure of insurance. Young and Capuano have been shown to be injury prone over their careers, so Gee must be ready for the call.
“Obviously, you want to be in the big leagues, but in terms of development and the future, I’m going to do whatever they ask me to do,” said Gee.
In talking about his repertoire, Gee said he is confident in throwing four pitches. His change-up is a big key, he said, and he looks to see if it’s there early in the game.
I asked Gee if he will prepare any differently this spring training knowing that he will likely play a significant role for this team at some point this season. Gee responded with following words of wisdom:
“I usually keep the base of my work the same. It doesn’t matter if I’m pitching in a little league game or a big league game. I’m trying to do the best that I can do and control everything that I can control. I just prepare the same way and take every day as my last.”
My guess is that Gee would mow down a lineup of little leaguers, forcing many of them to cry in the process. But seriously, Gee will serve as one of the many X-factors to this season, and I’m sure he’ll be ready when his number is called.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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Keep an eye on Cohoon this year I believe he will start in AA for soon to be named B-Mets manager Wally Backman. He may just be a late 2nd half callup if he continues to develop.
He seems to be a bit like Gee actually. Not dominant stuff, but he throws a number of different pitches, controls them, and seems to really know how to pitch (IOW, anti-ollies).
he is also old enough that if he is doing well in the minors, might as well bring him up if they have an opening, since he probably is just about as developed as he is going to get.
I’m pretty excited about Cohoon. He seems legit. And he’s really not that old if you think about it alwaysnextyear. If he was drafted out of college, last year would have only been his first year as a pro. And since pitchers go strong usually till around 33-34 or so, he’s got plenty of time. I mean David Price was the Rays best pitching prospect and he’s 25 and just got really his first full season of starts.
That’s why I haven’t really lost too much hope with F-Mart just yet. I think people sometimes forget that he only would have been a college senior last year. Some players just develop later, whether they were signed at 16 or not. Of course the injuries have a lot to do with it too. He could be doomed though. I always viewed staying healthy as a skill; one that he obviously doesn’t have.
I agree though. Keep an eye out for this Cohoon dude.
I like Gee, and can see him winning 10 to 14 for the big club. If not this year maybe next. His era will be high threes low 4′s but, I think he will be steady. Well one can hope.
these days, that isn’t even a #5 SP. it is at least a solid 4, if not a solid 3.
it may be possible that the Mets have a surplus of solid starting pitching after this year, for a change. maybe even this year. Johan, Pelfrey, Niese, Dickey, Mejia, Gee, maybe even Cohoon if things go well. Future might not be lookin so bad. that is a legit rotation.
Another delusional little metsie….. how sad.. you arrogant little metsies think that everyone wearing your uni is auton theym all kind of bad names. team. enjoy the cellar the rest of the decade….. funny how you think they are all great and then when they are gone you name call every one of them.. what a bunch of loser fans you all are. ps: Hail to the Steelers.!!!!!! lol
LoL, i love when you comment cause I know the Mets still scare you. Cause why else would you come to a teams blog just to say what you do if it’s not cause your scared?
So keep commenting I look forward to them.
oh yeah those metsies are so scary Jersey…. how’s the pain today???? guess you should have been a giant fan. at least they know how to win the big one. some guys can talk the talk and some guys can walk the walk. your big fat coach and your out of touch gm are both losers, in different ways. at least the jets want talent on their team and pay for it. the losers from FLUSHing just want to become the small market team in NYC. makes sense since they cannot be the# 1 team in their own city. when r the mets moving to omaha, or better yet TROY!!!!! oh, Bridgeport…. sounds about right! jets haven’t had a man on their team since Jow Willie!!!!
I hope when the Mets return to prominance that none of us are so lonely and without friends, wives, girlfriends ect that we have to spend our day “communicating” with fans of another team.
I also hope that when we are back none of us will be so lacking in accomplishment and self esteem that we feel the need to put down other teams fans in order to feel better about ourselves.
I also hope that we won’t be “talkin’ the talk” about someone ELSE’S accomplishments as if WE had anything to do with it.
I also hope that nobody here is so lonely, bored, immature and friendless that they never have anywhere to go where they are wanted.
I also hope that I never lose command of the English language
Well said. Let’s not overlook the few internal cannibals that savage Mets players with scurrilous stories. They’re also lacking in esteem but not hate.