Jerry Manuel reiterated that he is not someone who subscribes to innings counts for young pitchers, but the manager acknowledged he will have to solicit feedback on how to proceed with using Dillon Gee the remainder of the season, since Gee is returning this season from a labrum tear caused by 2008 overuse.

No matter the resolution, Manuel indicated, he is not in favor of a six-man rotation. Instead, if Gee is to get more starts once Johan Satana returns to the rotation, there could be a "piggybacking system" in which two starting pitchers are used consecutively in the same game. Manuel also suggested Mike Pelfrey or Jon Niese could be backed off a start.

"If a guy like Niese, we begin to see signs of him hitting a wall, we might just back him off a start," Manuel said. "If Pelfrey struggles, back him off a start. We have some ways to hopefully get a guy another start."

• The Mets perpetually throw away at-bats on pieces not likely to contribute in 2011. It happened in a small way Tuesday when David Wright was scratched and Mike Hessman rather than, say, Nick Evans was used at third base in his place. And it could happen at second base this weekend with Jose Reyes scheduled to return to the lineup Friday to face Philadelphia's Roy Halladay.

Asked if Ruben Tejada would see the bulk of the starts at second base once Reyes returns, Manuel indicated not necessarily -- saying Luis Hernandez merits time based on his recent performances.

"Hernandez is playing pretty good," Manuel said. "I kind of like what I'm seeing with him. I think Tejada could use a breather here and there. So I'd like to see what we get from that combination. And we still have Louie [Castillo]. We still have [Joaquin] Arias. So we'll see how it fits going down the stretch."

• Asked what he thinks Ike Davis' potential is, Manuel projected him to be a .260 hitter with 25 homers and 85-plus RBIs. Is that good enough in a league with Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez-type production at first base?

"I think in today's game, yeah," Manuel said about that offense being enough. "And it depends on what you have with the rest of the pieces -- third, short, second. Those pieces, obviously, have to be run-producing pieces as well."

Davis' 18 homers this season are the third most in franchise history for a rookie, trailing Darryl Strawberry's 26 in 1983 and Ron Swoboda's 19 in 1965.

• The Mets sent a large contingent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Tuesday. In fact, only four members of the active roster did not participate: Gee, who was excused as that night's starting pitcher, as well as Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez.