For Gagne, the reception in Beantown has been icy

A day later, Eric Gagne was still amazed by what happened Friday night at Fenway Park.

Not his blown game against the Angels.

But his walk home afterward.

"Pretty incredible," he said, sighing.

After the loss, he quickly dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and a pulled-low cap. He slipped out to the quaint surrounding streets with old fans and new neighbors for the short stroll to his apartment.

During which he was jeered and heckled.

"I kept my head down and kept walking, what else was I going to do?" he said. "I mean, these people really, really love their team."

And these people really, really dislike him.

Since being traded a couple of weeks ago from the Texas Rangers, Gagne has pitched as if he's wearing a softball shirt, and been treated as if he were wearing pinstripes.

Thrown into the middle of the sort of collective sporting desperation he has never felt in this sport -- The Yankees are coming! The Yankees are coming! -- Gagne has reacted with tight stares and grooved fastballs.

"This isn't bigger than L.A.," he said. "But, man, it's really different."

And he's been really different, emerging from a successful 16-save, 2.16-ERA stint with the Rangers to leave more dents in the Red Sox psyche than Bucky.

Seven appearances, six innings, 10 runs, 14 hits, 15.00 ERA.

In only the last eight days, he has blown three leads that led to three losses that culminated in a Friday night meltdown resulting in a cascade of boos and one heaved water bottle.

From Game Over to Batting Practice Begun.

"I remember fans throwing water bottles back when I watched hockey in Montreal," he said. "That's the best way to describe these fans, they're like the old great Canadien hockey fans."

He shrugged.

"I knew what I was getting into," he said. "I'm just glad the water bottle didn't hit me."

Some Dodgers fans were angry this winter when Gagne turned down a $4-million offer to sign with the Rangers for $6 million. They wondered, how could he show such little loyalty after essentially spending two years fixing his injury-racked body on the Dodgers' dime?

Those fans should be satisfied today because the Dodgers have never really missed Gagne.

They also might be a bit sad because, c'mon, he's a good guy, and you wouldn't want to wish his current struggles on anybody.