The latest on ESPN.com's Rumor Central says that the Yanks are interested in Nomar Garciaparra. This shouldn't come as any surprise; this blog has said long ago that George would love Nomar to help stick it to the Red Sox.
The irony about Nomar is that back in July, the media and Junkee fans were comparing his dour attitude to that of Jeter's selfless passion for the game. While Jeter was jumping into the stands to catch a ball, Nomar had no interest in getting up to pinch-hit and had no passion at all for the game. It will be hilarious to hear the feedback from Yankee fans if the Yanks get Nomar.
And I know what the response will be: Listen, Nomar was bitter because the Red Sox tried trading him during the winter. You can't blame the guy for feeling that way; his team betrayed him! But look at Manny Ramirez: much as you can give it to him for his antics, you have to respect the fact that he was a team player this year. He didn't let the fact that he was put on waivers in November affect his attitude. He just kept doing his thing all year and put up his usual almost-MVP caliber numbers.
Nomar is a sensitive guy, that's what it comes down to. And New York is not a place for sensitive people. Nomar was a fan favorite in Boston for many years. But as an injury-prone guy who's days of hitting .370 are over, Nomar may not get such a reception here.
At least Kevin Brown is basically untradable. Nomar should fit in well with him.
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4 comments:
Ok, if the junkees have the highest payroll why didn't they win the world series this year. The second highest payroll won the world series. Can you explain that one? It's about one thing and one thing only...MONEY. It's not about the sport anymore. I'm going for the Washington Nationals.
Hey, I'm all for parity. I'll take a salary cap tomorrow. And I'll admit the Red Sox won due to their payroll. But I couldn't help but love when they beat the Goliath of salaries, the Yankees.
And again, if the Red Sox had only $5 million less in salary than the Yanks, it would be inappropriate for me to single out the Yanks. But with a $60 million gap in payroll between them and the Sox that's only gonna get wider, the Yankees are appropraitely the poster boys for the all-too-large MONEY factor in baseball.
Oh you poor delusional Red Sox fan you. It has been pointed out numerous times in the comments that the Sox are big spenders, just like the Yankees. The Red Sox are a poor man’s Yankees or a mini-Goliath, if you will. You are no longer the “little guy” looking to stick it to “the man”, you’re “the man”. That’s what spending 120 million and winning a championship does. You can’t be a lovable loser when you win the Yankee way. But, cling to your reality all you want, you just look foolish and narcissistic doing so.
Nomar and the Yankees
Every time a Red Sox fan tries to run the line that goes something along the lines of: “Player X has played his best games with the Red Sox”, I just wanna laugh out loud and remind you of Roger Clemens.
In terms of Nomar, your comments are a thinly veiled attempt to assuage the inevitable agony you will feel when Nomar, not only suits up in pinstripes, but does damage against the team that kicked him to the curb. You and I both know, this pattern goes all the way back to the Babe. So don’t even try to front like he’s just another player to you. He and Pedro would hold a special place in your gut if they became Yankees and you know it.
In Boston, Nomar was in the middle of the lineup and was expected to hit .345. In fact, for the Sox to contend (prior to this year), he HAD to hit .320 or better. Not so in the Yankee lineup. He will be a member of the supporting cast, maybe in the 2 hole or in the 6 or 7 spot. You can compare his situation to that of John Olerud this past year. Seattle expected him to bat clean-up. When he was expected to carry the club in terms of offense, he failed and was subsequently cut. He was an amazing pick-up for the Yanks because they could plug a quality contact hitter in the bottom of the order. The only issue with Nomar is whether or not he will be better than Miguel Cairo. I hope you realize, barring a season ending injury, that will happen.
Nomar will perform well in New York and with the Yanks for the same reasons why Bernie is a fan favorite. He is a likeable guy. I want him on the Yanks more for his attitude than his talent. I like him as a person. And during the off-season, they didn’t just try to trade him, the Sox and their fans publicly dismissed him. You quickly pushed him aside at the first opportunity for A-Rod. It’s like the common high-school movie storyline where the geek turns on his friends at the first chance he gets to be popular. When he becomes the most popular of the cool crowd some unjust event happens and he plummets to earth, while learning a lesson in friendship. Red Sox Nation is in the popular stage of that story arch. The reality check comes next season when you try to repeat. Payback will be a bitch. At least you’ll always have ’04.
Manny, team player?
It’s amazing how winning warps your perspective.
First of all, the “team player” notion in baseball is way overrated. At the plate, Manny, and every other player, stands alone. A slugger like Ramirez doesn’t bunt, so no chance for “teamwork” there. In the field, Manny plays Left. Not a lot of double play opportunities out there. It’s just him and the Monster.
Manny puts up the same level of numbers year after year after year because he’s one of the elite hitters in the game not because he feels like he’s apart of a team and gets along with the fans and management or vice-versa. You could keep Manny in a cage under the bleachers and he’d still hit .320/35/120. With him, it’s about talent, not attitude. Look at all the years when he had a bad attitude.
I don't feel like taking the time to think this one out so I'm just gonna put it as plainly as I can... competing with the yankees changes a payroll... it costs money to get assurity... The Red Sox are a "mini-goliath" because they need to be, they parody every yankee move and an interesting page2 article was writen on this shortly after the arod deal, when the yankees get a pitcher, the red sox get a slightly less "big money" pitcher and so on... This is not to say that the Red Sox could not play well withouth the big names... as for the yankees this is not the case -- their arrogance and bank account forces them to BLOW money while the red sox are using it wisely. Before Curt Schilling you could say the Red Sox were a very sensible team with money... just having more than one pitcher over $7 million changes your impression of a team. The yankees had 7 bad (2 quality) starters being paid on their postseason roster, the red sox started all but 3 of their games all season by the same 5 men... thats effectively spending money -- the smaller market teams like the A's & Twins play well because they rally around their "underdog" role and play well for most of the season but never can win in the playoffs because of what the yankees have done to the game. Of course every once in a while large investments fail and you see the goliaths go down.
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