Dillon Gee Whiz

I could only get the Washington feed of Tuesday’s game, and the announcers were quite dismayed after Henry Blanco tossed the ball with which Dillon Gee made his first professional pitch into the dugout. “Did the Hall of Fame ask for it?” one joked. The other added, “Hey, if he’s got a perfect game two and a half hours from now, then we’ve got something.”

Well, it wasn’t a perfect game, but Gee did take a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Not bad for your major league debut. He lost it on a Willie Harris home run, but still, no one could be upset with his performance. He went seven innings, allowing just the one run on two hits.

Things got dicey in the ninth inning when Hisanori Takahashi let up two hits. But facing the potential tying run, he induced a game-ending double play. But be honest — who among us didn’t think Takahaski would let up a three-run homer, thus spoiling Gee’s night? It would have been fitting for this crummy season, but luckily it didn’t happen.

I’m not sure exactly why Takahashi was in the game in the first place. Bobby Parnell threw just four pitches in the eighth — why didn’t Jerry Manuel just leave him in for the ninth? Oh, I know why — Manuel is a lousy manager.

But he is smart enough to know that Gee’s performance warrants another start. “I would love to see him in another shot,” Manuel said. “We’ll probably get together at some point and map out a plan for him, because it looks like he can be a piece for this organization.”