Mets Game 159: Loss to Brewers

Brewers 9 Mets 2

I believe the term is “playing out the string”.

Game Notes

Tough game for Dillon Gee, but hey, we couldn’t expect him to continue to pitch as far above expectations as he had done in his previous starts. Gee allowed 4 runs — 2 earned — on 7 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings. He did give the Mets decent length, and only allowed the two earned runs, but it wasn’t a great performance. His command was off and he gave up several hits — though, to be fair, a few didn’t leave the infield.

Still, we should be happy with what we’ve seen of Gee. Here’s the thing, though: what makes him and his September performance any different from what we saw of Nelson Figueroa and Pat Misch of September 2009? Granted, he’s younger than both of those journeymen, but not so young to expect him to improve dramatically. So please, do not get all excited about Gee being some great pitching prospect who will head the rotation next year. He is what he is: a soft-tossing righthander who pitches to contact (which I like) and relies heavily on control. In other words, at best, a decent fourth starter but more likely a fifth starter. He may be as good as Bobby Jones some day, which, to me, is something the Mets need. I’d rather see Dillon Gee at an MLB minimum salary at the end of the rotation in 2011 than Kevin Millwood or some other overpriced, 7-figure veteran.

The game was actually somewhat close until the sloppy, disgusting, embarrassing ninth inning. It came two innings after Gary Cohen lauded the Mets for their excellent team defense in this otherwise disappointing season. Nice.

Next Mets Game

The Mets begin the last series of the season by playing the Nationals in Flushing on Friday night at 7:10 PM. The lefthanded, 2009 version of Dillon Gee (Pat Misch) faces Jordan Zimmerman.