Sunday, Aug. 08, 2004
Number five. The shortstop. NOMAR GAR-CIAAAA-PARRAAAAAAA!
Well, normally it'd be about time to do my montly crazy life update, but not today.
I have to stop right now and mention the departure of my all time favorite Red Sox player and once future husband, Nomar Garciaparra. Let me just speak up and go on the record with the fact that I think this was one shitty ass move on the Red Sox's part. Okay, yes, we did offer Nomar a 60 million dollar contract and, yes, we did need to fill in some holes in our defense. But, if I were Nomar I would have rejected the first offer I was given too, especially after the way the front end dicked him around this past summer when the prospect of possibly acquiring A-Rod came up. And, as for the holes in our defense, well they could have been filled any number of ways. In short, there was no good reason to so abruptly say goodbye to Nomar.
Seriously, after years of faithful service to the Red Sox and numerous statements that directly cited Nomar's wish to remain in Boston for the whole of his career, one would think the guy would recieve a little more respect. One would hope the people running the team would attempt to hang on to such a faithful and well loved player. Thos things said, I can definetely understand why the fact that we ran after A-Rod with a shit load of money the second he went on the market (A very Yankee like thing to do, I might add...)was a bit of an insult to Nomar. Honestly, I don't blame him a bit for holding out for more money especially after the whole A-Rod debacle and knowing how much money the front office was willing to shell out for a pretty boy shortstop.
Honestly, I think we should have kept Nomar. The fans love him, he very obviouisly loved this ballclub, and he was a cornerstone to what made the Red Sox great. He was one of the few players who came up through the Sox farm system, who worked his way up, and who we watched succeed over and over again. Sure he's had his fair share of injuries, but I remember very vividly the days on which he would return to the field after being sidelined, at Fenway especially, and there was a special buzz, a tingle if you will, in the air that one of our very special and adored players was back playing for our team again. And when he came back, well shit, it wasn't like he was a lump who did jack crap. Nope. The man played his ass off and did great things for the ballclub.
There was nothing like opening day or when Nomar would return from a stint away from the Sox. I mean, finally, being able to shout, in true Boston style, from atop the Green Monster or from one's couch "Nomaaaahhhhhh!", every Red Sox fan's favorite word, was just an indescribably fufilling feeling. And now, that feeling and excitement, that Nomar in particular brought to the Sox, will never return.
Never will any Sox fan be able to watch Nomar, in a Red Sox uniform, run up the steps of the dugout in his own queer, eccentric way touching both feet to each stair. Never will we watch him tug on his gloves and tap his shoes in the batter's box and know that he's on our side. Never again will any of us ladies be able to go down to the sidelines before a game at Fenway and admire the butt of one of the Red Sox's best players. Never will we be able to shout "Nomaaaahhhhhh!" again and look to the possibilites that this great player has to offer our team.
I truley feel as though a piece of what has made the Red Sox so special to me and to numerous other fans in Red Sox Nation is gone today. That a part of what made our team so special and so unlike the Yankees is lost. The character, the essence, and the eccentricities of this ball club feel somewhat muddled. I just don't feel the same about my team as I did when Nomar was a part of it and the spark that made me a diehard Sox fan seems to have faded just a bit.
I guess I'm disappointed. Nomar was a special guy. He was a very unique addition to our team. A great player who contributed so much to the game, to Boston, and to the fans. To loose him in such an anticlimactic way, after how he was treated by our front office really just sucks to me. I'm sad at the way the game in Boston is becoming defined by money and that we are becoming more and more like the Yankees each day. Its a horrible thing to say, blaspehmy to many in Boston, but I can't stop thinking that its true.
So, all I can do is be sad and disheartened and feel my heart drop every time I see Nomar in a Cubs uniform. But, I can also say to Noarm that we'll miss you. No Red Sox player should ever be allowed to wear number five again, because you alone made it truly special. You and all your nutty quirks made this team all the more fun to root for. You and your gritty dirt dog team flourished in our hearts because of the great faith we had that you would be there when we finally won it all. But, now, thats gone, as you are, and we will forever miss you. Know that the contributions, memories, and the great Baseball you brought to Boston for seven years, will never, ever be forgetten; at least, not by this Red Sox fan.
So, farewell Nomar. "Nomahhhh!" may never be shouted from the stands at Fenway again, but we will always keep you in our hearts.
ted-ted at 1:24 p.m.