Sanatana gets his first day of work in

They say these Spring Training games don't matter, and maybe they don't. But try telling that to the thousands of fans who piled into Tradition Field on Friday to catch nothing more than a glimpse of Johan Santana. Try telling it to the family of four sporting matching blue Santana T-shirts or to the guy leaning out of his seat and screaming, "Let's see what you got!"
Try telling it to anyone who watched the Mets falter during the final few weeks of last season or to those who felt somehow healed by the acquisition of baseball's premier lefty starter. Few outside of the clubhouse walls would even care to listen.

"There were a lot of people waiting for this, and it's finally done," Santana said. "But this is just the beginning of my career here with the Mets."

And an inauspicious beginning at that.

By the time Juan Gonzalez's three-run home run had landed beyond the left-field fence on Friday, Santana's two innings were irrevocably stained. He didn't mind -- this was just regular work on a regular day -- but so many others did. That home run shattered Friday's hype and dented its optimism, regardless of whether or not that's fair.

"I've got to get used to it," Santana said of his zealous new fans, who journeyed from New York and Florida and points in between. "It's part of the game. They're going to be like that, so it's good. They really get you going and keep you in the game. They always want us to go out there and do good."

Santana couldn't match their expectations, though he did just fine in matching his own. This wasn't meant to be a day for glory, only a day for a bit of hard work. He wanted to concentrate on locating his fastball -- which he did -- and on throwing his changeup and slider for strikes. Check and check.

So don't fret, say the Mets. This was but a shell of the Santana that's still to come.

"I've seen what he's made of," third baseman David Wright said. "He doesn't have to go out there and beat Spring Training hitters to prove to me that he was worth the contract or worth the trade."

The Cardinals amassed four hits off Santana, three of which went for extra bases. The fact that Gonzalez, an outfielder fighting to extend his career with the Cardinals, hit the longest shot was nothing new. In seven career regular-season at-bats against Santana, he has accumulated six hits, including two doubles and two home runs.


In this latest meeting, Gonzalez drilled the first pitch that he saw. Go figure. Santana's main goal was to throw strikes early and often, and he succeeded in 22 out of his 30 attempts. The Cardinals knew that, of course, so they jumped on first pitches, and Santana had no reason to adjust.

"We were trying to locate my fastball, trying to throw fastballs in and out of the plate," Santana said. "But they were swinging right away."

And so the stat line suffered. Yet a different scene, perhaps more than any other, defined this game. As a blend of Mets regulars and bench players battled to win their first Spring Training game -- they lost, 5-4 -- Santana stalked off to a quiet mound to throw 15 more pitches and finish his work. Those 15 brought his daily total to 45, which is what mattered to him most. Work now, win later.

"It's Spring Training," Santana said. "I'd rather leave everything here in Port St. Lucie and then when we head north, we'll be ready to go."

The only problems were those 5,038 fans swarming around Tradition Field, yearning only to see a glimpse of the future. And they weren't alone. Even Santana's teammates were out on the top step of the dugout, just as excited as anyone else.

"I think they were curious to see one of our best pitchers work," manager Willie Randolph said. "I'm sure everyone was anticipating his first outing."

Now it's done. It's all done. There will be hype like this again -- Opening Day in Miami beckons -- but Santana can now complete his spring work in relative peace. Every start will be something of a spectacle, to be sure, but that important first dose of reality hit on Friday. Santana wasn't perfect, isn't perfect and won't be perfect.

He's just awfully good, and that will have to be awfully good enough.

"I'm very happy to be able to perform today, even though the numbers will say something different," Santana said. "I don't really go by that."