Pitching for an aging team that choked on its collective stink at the end of last season, Johan Santana found out what it’s like to pitch in New York on Saturday. (Just trying out my New York-tabloid writing style there, folks.)

Johan got booed Saturday after allowing three home runs (sound familiar) in a 5-3 loss to Milwaukee in his first start of Shea Stadium.

And here’s some of what was written:

In the Post:  “The Shea Stadium love affair with Johan Santana sure didn’t last long. Just 6 innings into the ace left-hander’s home debut as a Met today, the faithful booed Santana after watching him give up three no-doubt-about-it home runs in a 5-3 loss to the Brewers.”

Poor lefty.

Also from the Post:  “…ultimately, after seven years of pure adulation in Minnesota while winning two Cy Young awards, Santana appeared shocked and shaken to hear boos from the crowd of 54,701 his first time out at Shea. “I wish we could do everything the way everybody wants, but we’re human beings,” he said. “I know a lot of people are expecting a lot of things from me. If the fans feel that way, they can feel the way they want. We’re not perfect.”

The old “we’re not perfect” thingee. Johan, buddy, if you can’t do any better than than, you’re gonna be booed as mercilessly (and as stupidly) as Yankee fans have booed A-Rod. For $137 million, the fans and the talk show hosts and the strap-hangers (That’s a term for people who ride the subway to watch you pitch) are expecting you to provide a tickertape parade at the end of this season, not to mention the next one and the next one. No matter that you’re among aging and overpaid teammates and your team’s farm system, ahem, has pretty much been dismembered.

As a commenter posted at the end of the story in the Daily News: “How much are they paying this man?”

And another: “Santana also needs to realize that in N.Y. the fans are what makes you or breaks you, so he does not need to say any sarcastic comments like the one after todays game. That will bite him is the rear end if fans take it the wrong way.”

And finally: “Bill Smith is a genius. Santana is proving that his 2007 numbers are what he is. He might get a few more strikeouts, and he’ll win 15 games, hardly a good investment. NY is not for him, they expect way to much from him, and the fans are impatient, typical east coast consciousness. He pitches to up in the strike zone. Still he’s in the top 10 in the National League , and you really have to work to beat him. Long season for the Mets, management dressed up a turkey, and the fans bought it.”

Even the guy on the Mets page at mlb.com wrote: “Merely mortal, Santana kicked the dirt around the pitcher’s mound and then walked out of Shea Stadium a loser for the first time in his Mets career. Quite a few boos — yes, boos — rained down on Flushing’s new hope, providing an unaccustomed welcome to what once might have been a grand debut. This, for Santana, did not feel like home.”

One more thing, Johan. When you got traded, Ms. Baseball was pretty bummed out and she wasn’t quite herself for a spell. But she watched Boof and the relievers shut down the Royals tonight after Senor Smoke Free did the same to the Royals on Friday and guess what? She’s pretty much over you.

other people are here too

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 12th, 2008 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.