According to the Associated Press story I accessed at ESPN, looks like the Houston fans gave Andy Pettitte only slightly less mercy than the San Diego fans offered Barry Bonds:
When winning pitcher Sergio Mitre hit the third double of the [fifth] inning to score Miguel Olivo, the sellout crowd began to boo Pettitte.Ramirez followed with an RBI double, and the boos got even louder. Russ Springer then relieved Pettitte to a loud ovation.
I expected to see more on this, maybe over at The Chronicle, and didn't, but shit, isn't this just a little um, uncivil? It's been less than a week since the Astros got into town, but the (admittedly large and enthusiastic) crowds have distinugished themselves at least around here a couple times even before the rudeness onslaught last night.
It sounded like saylinara had some issues with the crowd's treatment of PW Monday, and I know StrosDux had similar feelings when they booed the rookie Nieve during his subpar effort against the Royals.
But booing Andy freaking Pettitte kind of takes the cake. First off, when you see that kind of results posted by Pettitte, the first thing you have to do is wonder about injury, as I and bwhite had. And, like, hello? it's not good form to boo injured players?
The other factor the crowd should have taken into account before venting their disapproval is that the guy was the best pitcher in baseball for good stretches of last year, and overall, he came to town to take the Astros to the World Series.
Which he's now done. So chill out people.
Listen, Andy Pettitte sucked last night, and it was a tough, embarassing loss. He'll tell you himself he was "terrible." But the club and Andy both insist that there was no physical problem, that his velocity was good, and the problem was location.
If so, that means the Astros and their fans can look forward to 34 more starts from Andy, the great majority of which will end up being termed "quality" by those who keep the records.
I'd say you should save your boos for people who deserve it, like Barry Bonds, Carlos Beltran, and the entire Cubs roster.