Probably about the time when they decided it would be a good idea to have Nomar Garciaparra return to the franchise as part of some cheesy publicity stunt that did neither the team nor the player proud.

Recall that Garciaparra's dim1inished range and increasing unavailability had left the Red Sox hamstrung and their infield unsettled.

Beyond the upgrade in the infield, the clubhouse became more tranquil in Garciaparra's absence.

It could not have been entirely coincidental that the Sox enjoyed themselves more.

The sorry decline in his performance would mirror those of others intent on leaving Boston, only to later express regret: think Fred Lynn, Bruce Hurst, Mo Vaughn and seemingly countless others.

This is not intended as any slight whatsoever on Garciaparra's career

Of course not.

What a strange article. First off, the one-day contract thing was started by the 49ers and Roger Craig, as far as I know. The Niners are...a team who have as much tradition and history as anybody in the NFL. It's contradictory to say the Jaguars wouldn't sign anybody to a one day contract because by definition they have no one to sign (quiet down, Tony Boselli fans). I know football started in autumn 2001 for a lot of New Englanders, but I didn't think McAdam was one of them.

Secondly, since when did doing the one day contract thing preclude him having a day at Fenway? I'd bet he's going to throw out the Opening Day pitch.

It's getting to the point where any negative article about Nomar from a Boston media source should just be headlined "WHINY BOSTON HACK MAD NOMAR DIDN'T FEED QUOTES OR GOSSIP TO HIM IN 2001; PLEASE IGNORE."

Ignoring the stuff about Garciaparra's particular contributions to the Red Sox, I actually agree that one-day contracts are a stupid way to honor someone.

I actually agree that one-day contracts are a stupid way to honor someone.

Of course they are.

I've never looked, but I assume that these contracts aren't reflected in the participating players' career logs, since no actual play is involved. Accordingly, AFAIC, they never happened.

this might be a good place to recall nomar exploding in the 98-99 postseason. 7 home runs in his first 13 postseason games.

I see it more as Nomar wanting to honor/thank the Red Sox than the other way around.

I really don't see this as honoring someone, and I don't think those involved did either. The quotes from the Red Sox don;t appear to talk about honoring him, but focus on thanking Nomar for making the request. Honoring him happened during his last visit and will probably happen again later this year.

Instead, I see this as simply granting a request for an old friend. You may have had a falling out, and some harsh things were said. But, time heals a lot of wounds, and there are a lot of great memories shared. It's a nice way of burying the petty disagreements and focusing on the better parts of the past.

And all I know is that the Red Sox fan in my office was in the hallway during her dead-on impression of Nomar at the plate.

Teams that hate a particular player should sign him to a one-day contract, then release him, to publicly reaffirm their displeasure with how poorly he played. I would like the Yankees to do this with Sidney Ponson.

Half of MLB would do that with Benitez.

I see it more as Nomar wanting to honor/thank the Red Sox than the other way around.

The cynic in me mostly sees this as Nomar positioning himself for a whole lot of New England memorabilia shows.

i don't read McAdam much, but this reaction is waaaaaaaaaaaaay over the top, imo. take something kinda sweet and simple, apply cynicism and a bad case of constipation, and there ya go: this article.

It's still miles better than Dan Shaugnessy's venomous diatribe.

Can any writer realize what an amazing talent Nomar was and appreciate his career for that?

I don't give two two shits how Nomar treated those losers covering the Red Sox day to day. He was GREAT and anybody who takes the time to #### on him can go #### themselves.

Nomar's retirement allows all the petty ######## to shine through for Boston baseball writers. They all can go #### themselves. Useless group, all of them.

Teams that hate a particular player should sign him to a one-day contract, then release him,

They could announce he'd failed his physical and then start unofficial rumors about some embarrassing disease.

I pretty much assumed that this was all so, if Nomar makes the the Hall (big if), they wouldn't have to go through the shenanigans they did with Fisk in order to retire his number. The Sox have an inane rule that all retired numbers must belong to players who retired as Red Sox, and who are in the Hall of Fame. After he made the Hall the Sox gave Fisk some office job from which he retired, which is even sillier than this one day minor league baloney.

I think Fisk didn't get a job from which he retired, but one where his responsibilities are so small as to be nonexistent. Something vaguely connected to youth baseball in New Hampshire, I think.

It boggles my mind that certain members of the press and the idiots on WEEI I heard for ten seconds this morning (it's useful to set one's clock-radio to a station that you will motivate you to get out of bed, cross the room, and turn it off) are so determined to be cynical about this. Every fan I've talked to over the last couple of days is fully aware that this means nothing in reality, but appreciates it for the ritual that it is: An affirmation that despite the last five years of his career, Nomar is our guy and we are his fans.

I love Nomar, and McAdams can go #### himself. Douche bag.


LETS GO NO-MAR!

I was sitting the Red Sox press box in Ft. Myers yesterday when word got out what the press conference table was set up for. There were audible groans and a lot of bitter comments about midseason 2004 apparently being forgotten and everything. Just a bizarre reaction, I thought, to take that stuff so personally.

I loved Nomar but was happy to see him go by 2004. I completely understand what Sean is saying - and he's NOT at all a hack, and arguably the best and most reasonable of Boston's baseball writers.

All the same, I doubt the Red Sox went to Nomar with this idea. Nomar had to come to them and ask them. While I didn't care for the fruitiness of the festivities yesterday, I would be saddened if Nomar had asked and the Sox had turned him down. THAT would have been a story.

I'm fairly sure Theo, LL and Co. weren't thrilled by this turn of events, but they handled it with class, saying nothing but good things about #5. Hard for me to criticize them here.

All the same, I doubt the Red Sox went to Nomar with this idea. Nomar had to come to them and ask them.

That was the second question he was asked at the press conference yesterday and Nomar confirmed that he called the team first to suggest it.

Just a bizarre reaction, I thought, to take that stuff so personally.

For the Knights of the Keyboard, it is always all about them.

But wait, as a regular reader here I've been told that it was the Red Sox FO who fed all those anti-Nomar stories to the lapdog press in 2004. The last couple of days hint at the fact the Sox beat writers had plenty of Garciappara venom without any help from Kid Theo and co.

The last couple of days hint at the fact the Sox beat writers had plenty of Garciappara venom without any help from Kid Theo and co.

hmm, maybe. The implications of these pieces are that the front office is being full of it. They're doing this for the good publicity, but not because they like or care for Nomar. I'm not saying this is the correct conclusion, but I don't think Boston scribes are making it an issue entirely of how Nomar pissed the press off. Indeed, it seems there were plenty of things leaked to the press about Nomar's last days, and writers like McAdam are wondering why the Sox front office has seemingly changed its feeling about Nomar.

Indeed, it seems there were plenty of things leaked to the press about Nomar's last days, and writers like McAdam are wondering why the Sox front office has seemingly changed its feeling about Nomar.

OK, having read it, McAdam doesn't make the same kind of claims Pierce did (and before him Scoggins' hinting at that in his scorekeeping interview and before that someone else). It seems pretty undeniable that there was plenty of pent-up anti-Nomar feelings in the Sox press box, some of which hasn't subsided six years later. Doesn't that at least suggest the possibilty that the anti-Nomar stories that the BTF community assures me came from a Red Sox FO hell-bent on trashing a former player on his way out of town (which they do with everyone, except those they don't) instead just a a case of the Sox press unleashing their festering anti-Nomar sentiments when he was no longer a franchise favorite? Isn't it also possible that all those Nomar was pretty miserable in the summer of 2004 stories were just plain true?

Shaughnessy's column today started;

Great player.

Total Fraud.

That's where I stopped reading. At this point I'm not angry with the writers but the editors that keep employing these people. I was there yesterday and it was a nice day. Yeah, the one day contract thing is kinda silly but the "ceremony" was pretty understated, about a 30 second intro then Nomar threw out the first pitch, got a nice hand and that was that.

If Shaughnessy didn't want to cover it he should have found something interesting to write about but that would have required actual effort.

These stories tell us much more about the guys covering the team than they do about Nomar and the Sox. It's clear that while Nomar and the Sox were able to finally put their past differences aside and reach a level of mutual admiration and respect, guys like McAdam and CHB still carry enormous grudges over Nomar's prickliness with the press, even 6 years later. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

There's little doubt that Nomar was a pretty miserable guy in 2004. And there's little doubt, from having seen the presser yesterday, that he's entirely relaxed and content now and a different person, wishing to remember his good times in Boston instead of the bad ones. I thought the presser was very low-key and that Nomar looked very, very happy.

There's little doubt that Nomar was a pretty miserable guy in 2004. And there's little doubt, from having seen the presser yesterday, that he's entirely relaxed and content now and a different person, wishing to remember his good times in Boston instead of the bad ones.

That's my take. I suspect Nomar was a pretty good guy (even if he was difficult with the press), but also a sensitive guy who was hurt by the breakdown of negotiations and trade rumors and he wasn't able to get over it in 2004. It never made him a bad guy. Just a human one.