Godspeed, Nomar Garciaparra
July 31, 2004 ~ 7:18 p.m.
The Boston Red Sox have traded star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs as part of a multi-team trade. The Red Sox will receive shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins.
Now, I like Mientkiewicz, and it�s good to have a solid-on-defense first baseman. But Kevin Millar is underrated as a defenseman and he�s been hitting the cover off the ball lately. We also have defensive specialist David McCarty to cover first as Millar�s replacement. Did we really need another first baseman?
Cabrera is a former Gold Glove winner, and with him at short and Pokey Reese at second, this looks to be a formidable mid-infield unit. And then there�s always Bill Mueller at third.
Our infield defense may now be a bit stronger, but what about our offense? Nomar has always been an over .300 hitter and routinely drove in around 100 runs a year.
One interesting fact about Cabrera, however, is that his on-base percentage is .500 with the bases loaded. And, his OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) is a remarkable 1.000. Just the guy we need�the Sox are notorious for loading the bases and getting nothing out of it.
Doug Mientkiewicz is slugging only .363 compared with Garciaparra�s .500. However, his home run average should increase substantially at Fenway Park.
Again, I have nothing against Mientkiewicz or Cabrera, but getting these guys hasn�t done much to bolster our offense, and besides, Garciparra has been with the team since 1994 and was much loved by Red Sox nation.
I will miss Nomar greatly, and I wish him the best success with the Cubs. He will still have a special place in the hearts and minds of the Faithful.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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