Can we say "this sucks!"? I knew you could

No more Nomar

By John Tomase Staff Writer

BOSTON -- Everyone knew it was coming. If not now, then at the end of the season. But that doesn't make the following any less shocking:

Nomar Garciaparra is no longer a member of the Boston Red Sox.

The face of their franchise for almost a decade, Garciaparra was traded to the Cubs yesterday at Major League Baseball's trading deadline as part of a four-team deal that brought Montreal shortstop Orlando Cabrera and Minnesota first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to Boston.

Consummated, according to general manager Theo Epstein, "literally at 3:59:59," one second before the deadline, the trade improves Boston's porous infield defense at the expense of one of the most popular players in team history.

Not since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 has a superstar of Garciaparra's caliber left the team via trade (Stef: and we all know how that turned out!). Though the circumstances are different -- the Red Sox had little chance of re-signing Garciaparra after this season and wanted to get something for him before he walked away -- the impact is still stunning.

No more obsessive-compulsive tugging on his gloves. No more chants of, "Nomahh!" from the Fenway fandom. No more No. 5 jerseys dominating the stands.

No more Nomar.

"This was not easy," said Epstein at a hastily assembled Fenway Park press conference yesterday. "But it had to be done to make our team better."

The Garciaparra-Red Sox relationship splintered irrevocably when the Sox wooed shortstop Alex Rodriguez this winter. Though that trade ultimately collapsed, the damage had been done.
Garciaparra started this year on the disabled list with a heel injury and did not play until mid-June. He hit just .235 in his first 17 games back, but caught fire in July, hitting .386 to raise his average to .321.

Still, the lingering resentment of the off-season never dissipated. In his farewell comments from Minnesota last night, where the Red Sox played the Twins, Garciaparra repeatedly said, "It's great to go to a place where I'm wanted."

It had become increasingly clear that place would not be Boston.

"We knew we were not going to be able to re-sign him," Epstein said.

Garciaparra got the news last night in manager Terry Francona's office at Minnesota's Metrodome. Epstein made the phone call, thanking him for his service in Boston.

"My initial reaction was, 'Wow," Garciaparra said. "I know there was a lot of talk and everything. A lot of speculation, but you don't know. ... If it was in my control, I'd still be wearing a Red Sox uniform. That's the place I know, the place I love. But I'm also going to another great place, a phenomenal city with great tradition as well."

Garciaparra leaves Boston as one of the most storied players ever to don a Red Sox uniform. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1997, won batting titles in 1999 and 2000, and played in five All-Star Games.

His Red Sox teams made the playoffs three times, losing to the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last year. Garciaparra struggled all postseason, driving in just one run in 12 games.

The slump continued a slight downward tick in his play that began in 2001, when surgery for a torn tendon in his right wrist limited him to just 21 games. Though still an All-Star caliber player, he no longer earned mention among the game's elite.

Now he's gone, his storied career in Boston concluded in exchange for a pair of players with zero All-Star berths between them.

"We just traded away Mr. Boston, a guy who meant so much to the city. And just like that he's gone," Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon told MLB.com. "It's a sad day for a lot of the fans back there."

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It's going to be weird to see Nomar in another team's uniform. Shoulda grabbed those #5 jerseys while I had the chance. Drat!

Tis a sad day in Beantown, to be sure.