01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 29, 2006

BOSTON -- This was supposed be a homecoming. Instead, it turned into a mere cameo.

Hello, Pedro Martinez must be going.

Blink and you missed him. For weeks, the build-up took place. In three innings, it was over.

The Fenway Park mound, the site of so many past triumphs for Martinez, was not a hospitable place for the Prodigal Ace, even if the rest of the Fenway wrapped him in a warm embrace.

Martinez was hammered for eight runs -- six of them earned -- on seven hits in another lopsided Red Sox shellacking of the New York Mets, 10-2. He walked two and, in a telling sign of Martinez's diminished weaponry, struck out just one.

In the span of an hour or so, Martinez saw his E.R.A. zoom nearly a half-run, from 3.01 to 3.45.

But if Martinez felt embarrassed or dissatisfied with his outing, it didn't show afterward. Standing on a small riser in the bowels of Fenway, Martinez offered little in the way of remorse.

From his demeanor -- carefree, loose, a tad defiant -- it could have been an exhibition game in Port St. Lucie, instead of the most anticipated regular-season game at Fenway this season.

Done after 75 pitches? Oh, well.

Disappointed? Hardly.

"I'm not disappointed at all," said Martinez. "(The reception) meant a lot more obviously than the game. I don't think that even a win would give me the satisfaction I feel from the reception I got from the fans."

Perhaps this was all some sort of devious plot on the part of Red Sox fans -- lull Martinez into a false sense of security before the game starts and throw off his competitive compass.

Surrounded by lights, it was as if Martinez was morphing from Cy Young into Sally Field. The Red Sox fans (still) liked him. They really, really liked him.

"The most impressive thing to me," said Martinez, "was that people really showed me they loved me."

Martinez had publicly fretted for weeks about the reception he was going to get in his return to Boston, where he enjoyed seven mostly magical seasons, culminating in a world championship.

He needn't have worried. Martinez was cheered wildly when he went out for his pre-game warmup in the visitor's bullpen and got the same treatment when he returned to the dugout, occasionally acknowledging the hospitality with a wave.

When he came out for the bottom of the first, it was just like old times. Martinez bounced on the mound as he readied, feeding off the energy that surged through the ballpark.

But just as quickly, things unraveled. With runners on first and second and infield shifted around on pal David Ortiz, Martinez fielded a comebacker and seemed unsure of where to go.

"Probably got caught up in the moment a little bit," ventured manager Willie Randolph.

"I probably got caught up in the emotion of being received so well," confirmed Martinez.

His teammates were hardly supportive. For the second night in a row, rookie left fielder Lastings Milledge badly misplayed a rather routine fly ball on the warning track, leading to two runs.

But there was no overlooking the mistakes made by the pitcher himself, highlighted by Alex Gonzalez into the Monster Seats.

Martinez is far from the same pitcher who dominated hitters in the first half of his Red Sox career, when his fastball consistently sizzled in the mid-90s. Last night he touched 90 only a handful of times, topping out with a 91-mph fastball on ball four to Manny Ramirez in the first.

These days, Martinez has evolved into, if not a finesse pitcher, then one who must spot the ball with precision.

Last night, he couldn't. But that didn't seem to matter.

"I didn't have my 'A' game," said Martinez, "and they took advantage of that. I didn't have anything. I couldn't spot the ball well. Just the fact that I was able to come back and be received was a great feeling. Stuff about the game -- it happens."

Red Sox fans may remember Game Two of the 2004 ALCS, when Martinez lost to the Yankees and was taunted about being their Daddy. Afterward, in defeat, he seemed strangely proud to have grabbed the attention of a stadium full of fans in the biggest city in the world. Not that that was much consolation to the rest of the Red Sox that night.

It was the same deal last night at Fenway. As fierce a competitor as exists, he somehow shrugged off the loss.

Entertaining and enigmatic as ever.

But one more brilliant mound performance would have made for much better theatre.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340