NEW YORK -- Dillon Gee will get a spot start Sunday, but recognizes his role is now primarily as a reliever.
He vows to embrace it rather than allow it to affect his pitching.
"It's time to move on from everything I might have been hung up on and just concentrate on trying to pitch the best I can whenever I'm out there -- whatever role that is, just try to be that guy that can contribute to the team," Gee said late Saturday. "To look back and just see how involved I got in it and how hung up I was on a lot of this stuff, I think it affected the way I threw. It affected the way I was performing. Baseball is hard enough."
Gee acknowledged he was "fairly surprised" when he learned shortly before departing on bereavement leave that he was likely to start Sunday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves. After all, he noted, "I thought we were scrapping the six-man and I was going back to the bullpen."
Still, Gee is pleased to have the opportunity.
Gee returned to Citi Field during Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Braves. He had traveled midweek to his native Texas, where he spent bereavement leave mourning his grandmother's death.
Gee played catch upon rejoining the Mets on Saturday, trying to ready himself for the spot start in the series finale.
"I thought it was just going to be bullpen," Gee said. "I thought they were getting rid of the sixth guy. But I guess they say now that they're just going to want to insert one [spot starter] every once in a while when it works out. I don't know if they're going to keep doing that or not. I'm starting Sunday and probably back to the bullpen."
Since a June 3 start at San Diego in his return from the DL, after which he was bounced to the bullpen, Gee has logged all of 1 2/3 innings in one relief appearance. Asked how sharp he could be against the Braves given the light workload, Gee said, "I just threw outside and I felt really good. We'll see. I feel like it's been a long time since I've been out there. I was out there the other day, but like an inning. So it's just different. But I think I'll be fine."
