Mets fans in a show-me state of mind

There will be ample time in the next six months for Mets fans to be angry or sad or -- dare we say it? -- happy. It's a long season.

But it was too early for any of that Friday when the team returned to Citi Field after an offseason that both reshaped and rocked the franchise.

Nope, the vibe was best described as skeptical, bordering on cynical. As it oughta be.

That was evident during pregame introductions when some fans booed members of the training staff and most booed pitchers Mike Pelfrey and Francisco Rodriguez.

(Good thing for Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo they had been dismissed from the roster.)

Perhaps anticipating the mood of the crowd -- which was announced as a sellout of 41,075 -- the Mets wisely featured their most popular figure, Mr. Met, giving out 25,000 of his bobbleheads.

Mr. Met had nothing to say when approached by a reporter before the game. But he was smiling.

The Mets could have gone a long way toward winning over their Opening Day customers by not going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, striking out looking five times, walking nine Nationals and losing, 6-2, their third defeat in a row.

But there it was. Fans began streaming out of the stadium on a long, blustery evening after the Nats scored three in the eighth. By the bottom of the ninth, the place mostly was empty, and it was clear that one of Terry Collins' pregame goals had not been met.

"I just want when they leave today to say, 'Boy, this team is going to be fun throughout the summer,' '' the manager said.

Maybe next time.

It was a shame, given what players described as an encouraging pregame atmosphere. Starting pitcher R.A. Dickey called it "electric.''

Said David Wright: "There was a good vibe. I know the guys were excited. That might have played against us a little bit, maybe going out there a little too amped up wanting to go out there and give the fans a good show.''

What about all those fans who left early? "I don't know, man,'' Wright said. "I was worried about Drew Storen, not who was there and who wasn't.''

Ouch!

The Mets are expecting substantial crowds Saturday and Sunday, with advance sales of more than 30,000.

But that figure likely will drop into the 20,000-plus range against the Rockies next week. Midweek games in April are notoriously difficult sells.

Observers are certain to keep a close eye on ticket sales all season, both as a referendum on the team from fans and as a key barometer of the Mets' financial health, or lack thereof.

"We're encouraged by where we are,'' said Dave Howard, executive vice president of business operations. He said more than 85 percent of full-season ticket-holders renewed, and that the team has sold more tickets overall than at this time last year. He would not say what that number is.

"Given all the circumstances, I'm encouraged,'' he said. "How we go the rest of the year is going to be largely dictated by how the team performs, and I think this team is a better team than last year's.

"If the team is more competitive and stays that way throughout the year, given the fact we have substantially lower prices, it should translate into an uptick in ticket sales.''

All of that makes good sense, and the fans who showed up for Day 1 would love to see it turn out that way. For now, though, there was only one reasonable reaction: We'll see.