New York Mets fans were all sorts of excited about signing Justin Verlander over the offseason and then were reminded good things do not happen to Mets fans when the Cy Young award winner got hurt days before the season began. It was a sign of things to come as the team got off to a stumbling start that now has them sitting around .500, a very disappointing opening quarter of the year for an expensive roster with high expectations.
Reinforcements arrived in early May in the form of Verlander and he finally got to make his debut in front of Mets fans at Citi Field on Tuesday night. It did not go well! At all! In part because Verlander was unfortunate enough to go up against a scalding hot Tampa Bay Rays lineup, and in part because he simply did not have it last night. He gave up six runs in five innings and struck out only three batters.
Then he got booed off the mound. The jeers rained as Verlander got the final out of the fifth and never returned.
There have been lustier boos at Citi Field, to be sure. And Verlander did not seem too down about it afterwards, dishing out the correct buzzwords about frustration and being better. The 40-year-old has been here before, even if he hasn't been *here* before.
But if you wanted a snapshot of how Mets baseball has gone this year, well, look no further. One prized free agent acquisition got suspended for 10 games for the sticky stuff. The other only has one win under his belt halfway through May and just got booed off the mound in his first home start.
Other than that, things are fine. Right?
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Justin Verlander Getting Booed Off Mound in First Home Start Sums Up Mets Season So Far.
