August 3, 2004: Where Were You When They Sent Nomar Away?
the trade | young fans react | bob ryan | pictures | other uniforms that just don't fit
We had just checked in to our hotel room (at the Official Hotel of the BMTG - Inns of America) in Carlsbad, California after an arduous and tedious journey through L.A. traffic. Traffic that seemed to be jammed bumper to bumper all the way from Los Angeles to the Mexican border with brief reprieves thrown in as teasers, making you think you were in the clear, only to close right up again.
Wanting to check out how the extra inning affair between the Mariners and Angels turned out, and to see if the Big Unit Randy Johnson had joined the Evil Empire, I switched to ESPN. I can't remember if ESPN was showing a World's Strongest Man competition or drag racing, as I was focused on the running ticker at the bottom of the screen. Expecting to see, "Johnson dealt to the Yankees for two no name prospects that will never amount to anything," I was shocked to see that Nomar had been dealt to the Chicago Cubs for Montreal's Orlando Cabrerra (not the Cabrerra from Florida) and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins. The ticker flew by so fast, I had to check with Brother Nature to verify what I really saw. Sure enough, the ticker made its way around again and the sky officially fell.
Added to that was the fact that the Evil Empire found someone idiotic enough to take on the disaster known as Jose Contreras.
I'm sure the trade happened for a variety of reasons, and even though the BoSox got something in return for a player they felt sure would leave after this season, Nomar is one of those players you just don't trade. He was the face of the franchise. When you hear Red Sox, you think Nomar. Just like Ripkin was always in Baltimore and Gwynn was always in San Diego, Nomar should have remained in Boston for his entire career. Whatever problems there were between Nomar and Red Sox management and ownership could have and should have been worked out.
As Haruyo K. of Tokyo, Japan said when Hsing Hsing finally died and joined the ranks of Dead Pandas, "I just cannot accept the reality."
I came over to tell the Ukrainian Brothers that we were ready to go to the Padres game. Brother Nature, the elder of the Ukrainians, advised me to sit down and pointed to the chair in the corner. Brother Nature is a kind and gentle man and is always so hospitable that I just thought he was being a proper host. I looked past Brother Nature, I saw Ahchie in the middle of the room looking at the television. Ahchie looked up and advised me that sitting down would be a good idea but quickly followed up with "we will wait to tell you in the car". At that point, I needed to know what the news was; right now, standing up, prepared to drop into the fetal position. Since I was told it could "wait" until we were in the car, I figured that I didn't need to break out the funeral suit, yet I could sense that something horrible had taken place. Brother Nature again insisted that I sit down but my only response was a demanding plea "Tell me". Ahchie then decided to make it a clean cut and simply said, "Nomar has been traded". I could see in Ahchie's face that he didn't want to say those words, not so much for my benefit, but for the fact that by saying it the news of the trade was now real.
My immediate reaction was "we have just lost cabin pressure." My head was spinning, how could this be? I never thought they were serious about trading Nomar, was the trading deadline over? Who'd they get? Why?!?! Brother Nature, no longer in comfort mode, added that he had been traded to the Cubs. I immediately thought of the disingenuous Sammy Sosa and consistent bridesmaid Dusty Baker yucking up in a photo op complete with Nomar hoisting his new jersey above his chest. It took several days to properly absorb that Nomar had been traded. Boston has been making impressive roster moves for the past two years with the additions of Williamson, Schilling, and Ortiz but the curse can take on many forms. Boone's homer, Dent's homer, and Buckner's error are all painful reminders of dramatic near misses. Just as common are the short-sided trades that get rid of talent such as Bagwell and Schilling. The Nomar trade, as unsavory as it is today, will become even fouler as time passes and Boston fails to deliver again on Spring Training promise.
The Red Sox organization screwed this one up. Boston lost more than Nomar with this trade. They lost that rare player who represented the team and the city. Talented players go from team to team, but rarely do they embody the spirit of the organization even if they are statistically successful. Nomah's stats in Chicago, whether they are good or bad, will not tell the entire story. Boston and [the Globe] can spin this all they want, but the Sox let the issue go too far and the two players they received will only fill holes that were much smaller than the gap now left by Nomar's departure. Florida won their first championship with a soulless team that didn't represent South Florida. I hope Boston wins it all, but I also hope I don't have a hollow feeling when that day comes because the players who earned that right are working elsewhere.
I am not a Sox fan or a Cubs fan, but seeing Nomar in that uniform is really weird. It's like seeing Joe Willie Namath in a Rams jersey or Johnny Unitas in a Chargers jersey. The closest thing I have to this is when Emmitt left the Dallas Cowboys for the Arizona Cardinals.
Just know that it does get better.
Now you know how I felt when Giambi went to the Yankees.
Sox trade Nomar to Cubs at deadline
Boston gets shortstop from Montreal, first baseman from Twins
By Bob Hohler, Globe Staff, August 1, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS
- He was the face of the Red Sox, a superstar in the mold of the legendary
Ted Williams whose indelible achievements will endure in the memories of generations
of New Englanders. And now he is gone.
In one of the most momentous transactions in the modern annals of the 103-yearold franchise, the Sox yesterday ended their decade-long relationship with Nomar Garciaparra, dispatching the two-time American League batting champion to the Chicago Cubs in a four-team deal aimed at shoring up Boston's flawed defense.
Under the multipronged deal, the Sox sent the shortstop to the Cubs with Single A outfield prospect Matt Murton and received two former Gold Glovers, shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins. Mientkiewicz immediately switched uniforms and started at first base last night for the Sox against his former team.
''It was with mixed emotions that we let Nomar go,'' general manager Theo Epstein said after hours of highly complex maneuvering culminated with Garciaparra's sudden departure. ''He's been one of the greatest Red Sox of all time.''
A five-time All-Star who was widely revered for his feats on the field and his charitable contributions to communities throughout the region, Garciaparra ended his remarkable run with the Sox in the cramped visitors' clubhouse of the Metrodome. He received the news in manager Terry Francona's office just after 4:45 p.m. Eastern time by telephone from Epstein in Boston. The deal was completed just before the 4 p.m. trading deadline.
Garciaparra, 31, who already had dressed for last night's game against the Minnesota Twins, quickly changed into street clothes, packed his belongings, and bid his teammates farewell. He hugged most of them, quietly recalling fond moments with some and sharing hopes for a better tomorrow with others. The last items he grabbed were his bats, which he used to make some of the most splendid memories in recent years for Sox fans. "If it was in my control, I'd still be wearing a Red Sox uniform," Garciaparra said. "That's the place I know, I love, all those fans, I'll always remember. But I'm also going to another great place, a phenomenal city with great tradition as well."
The blockbuster trade was driven by a number of factors, most notably the great likelihood the Sox would lose Garciaparra to free agency after the season (he harbored deep resentment over the way the Sox tried to replace him last winter with Alex Rodriguez) and Epstein's belief that the Sox defense potentially harbored a "fatal flaw." The Sox entered the night leading the majors in unearned runs allowed (74).
The Sox also decided to move Garciaparra after he informed the medical staff within the last three days that he would need considerable time (more than just random days off but not a trip to the disabled list) the remainder of the season to rest his injured right Achilles' tendon. The Sox disclosed the information to the Cubs before they completed the deal. Garciaparra missed the first 57 games of the season with Achilles' tendinitis.
"We lost a great player in Nomar Garciaparra, but we've made our club more functional," Epstein said. "We weren't going to win a World Series with our defense."
Garciaparra's departure sent ripples through the Sox clubhouse. Though he was one of the least outgoing players on the team, he was highly respected for his work ethic and his skills at the plate and in the field. He ranked among the most productive hitters in franchise history and was renowned for some of his spectacular defensive plays.
"We just traded away Mr. Boston, a guy that meant so much to the city, and just like that, he's gone," Johnny Damon said.
Manny Ramirez said when he arrived in Boston, Garciaparra was the best hitter he had ever seen. And he reiterated that yesterday.
"You've got to keep it going, man," Ramirez said in hugging Garciaparra in their final goodbye.
"The good thing," Garciaparra replied, "is if we play each other in the World Series, at least one of us will get a ring."
Garciaparra, who was the 1997 American League Rookie of the Year, never made it to the World Series with the Sox. But no one suggested it was for a lack of effort. If anything, Garciaparra was criticized for trying so hard that his habits seemed to border on compulsive, from his quirky batting routine to his highly regimented pregame routines and a wide array of superstitions. Yet he insisted to the end that he relished his relationship with the Sox, which began when they selected him in the first round of the 1994 draft out of Georgia Tech.
"They can take the shirt off my back, but they can't take away the memories I got," he said. "They can't take away the standing ovation that I got when I came back this season when I walked up to the plate. Or the standing ovation I got when I hit the grand slam this year. Or when I hit three home runs on my birthday [in 2002]. Every time I stepped up to the plate, the fans cheered for me. When I went deep in the hole to make a play, they'll never be able to take away that. What it's meant to me, they all know that every single day I went out there and I was proud to put that uniform on and what it represented."
The end came eerily for Garciaparra. His name appeared on the original lineup card posted on the clubhouse wall. He was to bat fifth, and checked the card shortly after 4 p.m. to see what time he was scheduled to take batting practice. But all around him there were indications that a trade of some sort could be imminent. The Sox had not failed to make a move on the day of the trading deadline each of the previous three seasons and eight of the last nine.
"Fifteen minutes to go, and we're all still here," catcher Doug Mirabelli said as he entered the room, with Garciaparra seated quietly before his locker with his cellphone.
"Ten minutes to go, and I'm still here," Ramirez said as he arrived. "I guess I'm not going anywhere."
Derek Lowe was nowhere to be seen, leading to speculation the Sox had finalized a deal to trade him and acquire another starting pitcher, Matt Clement, from the Cubs. But that deal fell through about an hour before the deadline.
Reporters were scheduled to meet with Francona at 4, but he asked to postpone the session "a few minutes to make sure there's nothing [going on]." But there was, of course, as the Sox tied up the final details of the deal. Meanwhile, Garciaparra continued dressing for the game, periodically interrupting the process to take phone calls. Then a call came at about 4:40, and just as Garciaparra answered it, a Sox public relations official asked reporters to leave the clubhouse so the team could conduct private business. That's when Garciaparra entered Francona's office and spoke to Epstein.
"I didn't think it would happen," Pedro Martinez said. "But if he's going to be happy, I'm happy for him. If it's going to work out OK for the team, it's going to be OK. It's always sad to see a guy, a superstar, a gentleman, leave like that, especially knowing that me and him and [Tim Wakefield] were probably the last old goats to survive.
"For some reason, I just feel like Nomar's part of the tradition in Boston," Martinez said. "I'm so used to seeing `Nomah!' and hearing the people go, `Nomah!' and No. 5 all over everybody's back. For some reason, I just framed him as a Bostonian, as part of the team. I think a lot of people are going to be sad in Boston."
Garciaparra's message to his teammates: "Goodbye, I love them, I miss them, good luck, and hopefully we see them in the World Series."
Then, after shaking hands with every reporter before him, he headed for Chicago. No. 5 was gone.
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Young fans take trade of Garciaparra hard
By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent, August 2, 2004
Braeden Zanni ran to his bedroom and cried late Saturday afternoon after he heard the Red Sox had traded his favorite ballplayer. Tyler Beach, another distraught 7-year-old, asked his dad whether Nomar Garciaparra ''had done something wrong."
When David DeMatteo broke the news to his two children, Joshua, 5, and Kelsey, 9, they just couldn't grasp why their hero wouldn't be playing at Fenway Park anymore.
''They were saying, 'Where did he go? How come? Where's he playing?' " said DeMatteo, a tee-ball coach in Agawam. ''You try to explain it -- that it's a business. You try to explain why he's not going to be on TV anymore. But to a 5-year-old, its kind of hard."
The Red Sox's trade Saturday of the hugely popular shortstop, a New England fixture since 1996, has left many fans feeling frustrated, sad, even heartbroken. But Garciaparra's trade to the Chicago Cubs arguably has been hardest on his youngest fans -- 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds -- who don't understand contract disputes, free agency, or soured employer-employee relationships.
All they know is that they've lost their hero, and that it hurts.
''A child experiences ballplayers and teams as if they are extensions of themselves and their family," said Dr. Carolyn Newberger, a Brookline child psychologist. ''The Red Sox are their home team, and their home team and their neighborhood and family are all part of who they are. When their hero is traded, there is a loss of a sense of safety and permanence."
To ease the pain, Newberger said, parents should try telling their young softball and baseball players that professional baseball is like a job, and that people often leave one job because they can get a better job that will make them happier. Empathy, she said, also goes a long way.
''Rather than saying this is the way things go and there will be someone else, say, 'I see you're upset. I know this is upsetting. Do you want to talk about it? Because I'm upset, too,' " she said.
Peter Zanni of Lynnfield tried consoling his 7-year-old son by following him into his room -- decorated with Garciaparra pennants, pictures, and a bobble-head doll -- and letting him vent.
''He was going to throw all his Nomar stuff away," Zanni said. ''He was actually more mad at the Cubs. 'I hate the Cubs,' he said. He just couldn't understand why he's not a Red Sox anymore."
Braeden was feeling better yesterday morning, his father said, but he was still pining for his favorite glove-tugging shortstop. During breakfast, Braeden came downstairs with his Garciaparra pennant and began tracing a copy of it with pencil and paper.
''I'm sad. I didn't want him to get traded," Braeden said. ''I like how he plays and does his stuff -- his batting stance."
Though the Red Sox were in Minnesota, souvenir shops around Fenway Park were busy yesterday with fans buying Garciaparra shirts with his No. 5 on the back and his rookie baseball card. Rene Umanzor, of Sturbridge, bought his 5-year-old son, Andrew, a new Manny Ramirez shirt to replace the Garciaparra jersey he usually wears.
He also tried telling Andrew that the two players Garciaparra was traded for -- shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz -- are also very good players.
''The easiest way I've found to explain it to him is just to say we got two players now instead of one. And that's something better," Umanzor said.
Close by on Yawkey Way, a quiet 9-year-old Anthony Donaldson was wearing his brand-new Garciaparra shirt, purchased by his uncle on Saturday just hours before the trade.
''He was so thrilled to get the shirt," said his father, also named Anthony, of Roslindale. ''He's hurt about it. You can tell."
As usual with young children, few have attempted to hide their emotions about saying goodbye to their icon, parents said. Rick Beach of Quincy said his son, Tyler, was very upset Saturday upon hearing about the trade.
Yesterday morning, Tyler was still melancholy, barely uttering a word during a 2-hour car ride to their family's camp in Vermont.
''There was no talk about baseball. Nothing. And that's always one of his favorite subjects," Beach said.
''I wish he'd stayed. I'm mad," said Jessica McAlpine, 12, of Holbrook, another visitor to Fenway Park wearing a Garciaparra jersey yesterday. ''He's just a really good player, and he's always doing charity work."
Newberger, the child psychologist, said children will get over losing Garciaparra, though it may take some longer than others.
In the interim, she advised parents not to rush the process -- his poster can stay put on the wall -- but also to be as honest as they can.
''The reality is awful," she said. ''But this is a reality that will help the children understand a little more how the world works."
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Who was hustling in all this?
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, August 3, 2004
The couldas, shouldas, wouldas, and what-ifs no longer matter. The best shortstop in the history of the franchise is gone.
History buffs will recall that the nebulous "they" blamed Harry Truman for "losing" China, and around here, "they" undoubtedly will say that (pick one) John W. Henry, Theo Epstein, or the media "lost" Nomar Garciaparra, but the truth is, this was a story that did not have the slightest chance of a happy ending since the December machinations regarding Alex Rodriguez took place. It was a Murphy's Law scenario, highlighted by a mysterious injury that no one remembers happening and whose severity is, in the minds of many, in doubt. Only Nomar can answer the pertinent questions, and either you believe him or you don't.
If he is a liar, he is a magnificent one. A man could not speak with more apparent conviction than he did when he made the famous honeymoon phone call to WEEI proclaiming his fidelity to Boston (and, by extension, the Red Sox). No matter how many second- and third-hand conversations were repeated to the contrary, not once in his time in Boston did Nomar Garciaparra ever say publicly that he was unhappy with any aspect of his life here.
He embraced Boston. Did you catch his Q & A in the Sunday Globe Magazine a few weeks back? He was Mr. Chamber of Commerce, happily revealing his favorite haunts. And anyone who has made the trip through the new parking garage overpasses at Logan Airport these past several months knows that the voice greeting you belongs to Nomar Garciaparra. Not Tom Menino, not Keith Lockhart, not Ben Affleck. The man chosen to speak for all of Boston was Nomar Garciaparra.
No player in recent Red Sox history has bonded better with the fans. He played the precise kind of aggressive baseball geared to ensure popularity. His mistakes were those of passion, not apathy. He seldom walked because he saw more value in hitting the baseball. Purists simmered over his disappointing on-base percentage, and many were frustrated by his propensity for swinging at the first pitch (a tactic that served him very well), but Joe Average simply loved his approach to the game. He ran out every ground ball, every popup, and every routine fly ball. He tried to make impossible plays in the field, when eating the baseball might have been the better decision. He just flat-out played hard. And the fans loved him for it.
Autographs? No player signed more. No player made it clearer to the Boston fans that he appreciated their support.
Yet we are told he felt the atmosphere here to be suffocating, that people cared too much, that the whole curse thing was a major pain to deal with. Is that the gospel truth? I don't know, and neither does any other member of the media. He was here from late 1996 until Saturday last. Let the media person step forward who ever heard him declare his distaste for all that is Red Sox baseball.
If it was an act, it was a good one, and I bought it. He raged against statistics and streaks and spoke only of winning. That's the Nomar I saw and heard.
But he's still a modern player, and they are all business-oriented. Whatever their ideals at the beginning, and however much they talk about team this and team that and all-I-want-out-of-life-is-a-ring, they also want to get paid, and get paid in proportion to their presumed status. Nomar Garciaparra is no exception to that rule, otherwise he would not have a high-powered A-list agent such as Arn Tellem.
Would Nomar still be here if Rodriguez had not popped up on the market last fall? We will never know. Absent that development, would the Red Sox and Tellem have come to some agreement for a new contract over the winter of 2003-04? Very possibly. Much was made of the supposed fact that Tellem and Nomar turned down a reported $60 million offer for four more years before the 2003 season even began. Yeah, so? And even more was made of the fact that the Red Sox supposedly made a major market correction offer later on. Yeah, so? Negotiations are not straight-line affairs. They usually have many twists and turns.
Let's suppose there was a difference of opinion between management and player about just where Nomar fit into baseball's hierarchy. Let's suppose management had come to believe that there was a difference between the '97-99, pre-wrist injury Nomar, and the post-wrist injury Nomar, which I believe there is. There would have to be some earnest discussion. After all, Nomar did win two batting titles and twice hit more than 50 doubles, post-injury. We're not talking Eddie Brinkman here. But no one can seriously suggest there is the same consistent pop in his bat nowadays as there was in those first three years. That would be delusional. And power was a major part of the Nomar package. That raw power is no longer there.
Yet even a diminished Nomar is a very good player, and his value was further enhanced by the fact that he was a local icon. The ultimate face of Red Sox baseball was neither Pedro nor Manny nor Curt. It was Nomah. That should have mattered -- to both sides.
He was clearly hurt by the flirtation with A-Rod, and isn't that understandable? Then the situation was hopelessly complicated by the Achilles' tendon injury, the source of which remains a mystery to this day. How does something like that, supposedly incurred in a harmless way -- most people who tear their Achilles' immediately say, "Who shot me?" not "Ouch, I just got hit by a baseball." -- escalate into such a long-term deal? Everyone was trying to read the tea leaves and gauge body language and place meaning on everything Nomar did or didn't do.
Did he want to play or didn't he? Would a man who has consistently played as passionately as Nomar suddenly become a loafing, sullen albatross? Was he always devious, or, if not, what had come over him? Or is he still quite injured, quite despondent, and quite concerned over his long-term future?
Those were the questions. That was the atmosphere. Obviously, the situation was untenable. The scenario had an entire life of its own. It had come to the point where management didn't think he could ever be re-signed, so Theo made the best deal he could. It wasn't what any fan or media member believed was equitable, but that is what happens when you are not dealing from strength.
Nomar exited by saying he never wanted to go anywhere and had hoped he'd be a one-team guy (like Bob Stanley, Jim Rice, and Mike Greenwell, the last three Red Sox players of any consequence who could make that statement). Was he lying? Was he simply maintaining the fiction because it fit his self-image?
It was a sticky and unpleasant situation. It was not the way one of the great players in the history of the franchise should leave. Five years, 10 years, 50 years from now, people will be asking "Why?" "What happened?" "Could it have been avoided?" "How could everyone have been so foolish?"
We will never have the answer. It just was.
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Other Uniforms That Just Don't Fit
