Embracing life as a Met

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA.

Johan Santana spotted a reporter from Minnesota in the Mets clubhouse Monday and started rattling off questions faster than any he could answer himself.

"How is everybody over there?" he said. "How's Liriano? How's Big Fella?"

Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano looks bigger coming off elbow surgery, Santana was told. And longtime clubhouse attendant Wayne (Big Fella) Hattaway is still shuffling along at age 68.

"That's great," Santana said. "Tell all those guys, I said hi."

Santana had just finished a vintage performance in his third spring training start for the Mets, holding the Red Sox to two hits with four strikeouts in four scoreless innings.

Outside, the stands at Tradition Field were littered with fans wearing new Mets jerseys with Santana's No. 57.

He has come to represent hope for a team coming off one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.

The Mets blew a seven-game lead to the Phillies with 17 games remaining.

"I don't even know if I can talk about it," said Kristina Hoffler, 26, of New York City, who stood near the Mets bullpen wearing a Santana jersey. "The players have to talk about it. I don't get paid enough to have to relive that."

Hoffler said the trade that brought Santana to the Mets for Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra "was a lifeline for us."

"We needed a big name -- the best of the best," she said. "And that's what we got."

But the Mets didn't make any other big acquisitions. Their team looks very old and brittle this spring. Moises Alou is out four to six weeks because of a hernia. Former Twins second baseman Luis Castillo, who is coming off knee surgery, won't play in his first game until later this week.

Pitchers Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez have yet to appear in official Grapefruit League games. Carlos Beltran (knee surgery) finally returned Monday. Carlos Delgado (hip injury) was back for the first time in a week.

If not for the Santana trade, this would be a depressing camp for the Mets.

"The way these guys finished last year, I wasn't part of it," Santana said. "I'm not going to try to be a hero or anything. I'm going to be myself, just like I was in Minnesota, and hopefully that will help them."

About 15 reporters gathered at Santana's locker after he finished pitching, and he was asked if he gave special thought to the names on Boston's lineup card.

Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie all were mentioned in Boston's trade discussions with the Twins.

Lester, a fellow lefthander, had matched Santana's performance, holding the Mets to two hits with four strikeouts in four scoreless innings.

"That was over with a long time ago," Santana said of the trade saga. "This is where I am right now, and I'm very happy to be here. ... I'm a Met."

Besides giving up four players for Santana, the Mets gave him a six-year, $137.5 million contract, persuading him to waive his no-trade clause.

With major contracts come major expectations, and in Santana's first game, Feb. 29, he gave up a three-run homer to long-forgotten Juan Gonzalez. Santana allowed one run in two innings in his next start, so his latest effort lowered his ERA to 4.00.

"He's a joy to watch," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He's looked that way [as he pitched Monday] from Day 1 for me. He gave up a weak three-run homer -- that's one pitch, so I don't get caught up in that.

"He looks good. Strong. It's going to be a lot of fun watching him work. He's a lot like Pedro. They know exactly what they're doing. And when guys like that work, it's a beautiful thing."

Martinez has three Cy Young Awards, Santana two. Now, their lockers are side-by-side.

"I thought he was going to be a Twin forever," Martinez said. "If I've got what I've got in Johan, I don't think I would have let him go."

The Twins offered a four-year, $80 million contract extension in November but began shopping for trades after Santana turned it down.

After the deal was finalized last month, Santana called Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson to say goodbye and gave him the truck he had been driving in Minnesota.

It's a black Dodge V-10 "Viper powered" truck. Anderson can add it to the Rolex watch Santana gave him in September, remembering their work together during his Cy Young seasons of 2004 and 2006.

"He deserves a lot of things," Santana said. "He's a big reason for who I am right now. He was always there when we needed him, especially for me. He was more than just a pitching coach, he was a friend."

Santana has kept a home in Fort Myers, and he plans to surprise his former teammates soon with a visit to the Twins spring complex.

"I'm comfortable here," he said. "But at the same time, it's sad because I was the kind of guy who thought I was going to spend my whole career in Minnesota.''