The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

Ever have a feeling of buyer’s remorse? I’m starting to have that feeling. You see, my hometown team - excuse me - my Olde Town Team, just bought their way out from under Nomar Garciaparra and his pouting, selfish, crybaby personality, and yet I feel like we, the fans, got the short end of the deal.

I once wrote that the reason that baseball’s union has such strength is that the fans love the players more than the teams:

“With baseball, it's all about marketing players first, teams second. That's why the union is so strong; they know fans won't show up to see replacement players. In football or hockey, we rarely see players' faces because they have helmets, so we cheer for a jersey. In baseball and basketball, the players are so visible that we follow them from team to team, regardless of whether or not we like the team.”

Well here’s the problem for Boston – the fans LOVED Nomar. Not liked, not followed, but LOVED. Many of them revered him as the second coming (or, in Brookline, the first coming). So when he started to whine and complain about his contract, about the lack of respect, about the negative media, most of the fans sided with him. They simply assumed that his arrogance and negativity was the result of the spin put on it by the same negative media that had alienated Nomar in the first place – much like they had alienated Clemens, Mo, Jim Rice, Yaz, and Teddy Ballgame before.

But then a funny thing happened. Ownership and management started to side with the media. Maybe not side with them, but certainly took the same approach. Suddenly there were rumors about Nomar trying to “stick it” to the Sox by staying out longer with an Achilles injury, and there were more leaks from “people familiar with the situation” that there was no way Nomar would stay in Boston once his contract ran out. And of course, there was the botched A-Rod deal.

See, here’s the thing. Nomar’s agent started all of this. He rejected the Red Sox’ first 4-year / $60M offer, saying that he had “counter-offered” (?!?!) with a contract in the $16-$18/year range. Pffff. $16-$18M a year for a guy who isn’t producing at the plate like he used to, who doesn’t have the range he used to, who doesn’t like the city he’s in, although he puts on a nice face for the cameras and the fans. I mean, c’mon!

So the Red Sox, after a market correction, a serious injury, and the A-Rod debacle, came back with a 4-year / $48M offer, and Nomie’s agent, Arn Tellem, basically told them to screw. And that was the beginning of the end.

Unfortunately, the fans got left in the cold with all of this. I hesitate to use the old sports metaphor of a “bad breakup” or a “divorce” between the player and the team, but maybe it fits here. We, the fans, end up like the children caught in the middle, trying to decide whether to back a favorite player or a favorite team. And that’s a tough decision for some to make.

Am I sad about the end of the Nomar era in Boston? Sure. As much as I was about the end of the Roger/Mo eras earlier in my life? Not even close. At least this time the Sox’ management was smart enough to realize that if they are not going to keep a player after the year, that they could trade him and get SOMETHING in return, aside from two draft picks. Did they get enough? Perhaps. The Nomar name didn’t carry as much weight in trade talks as it would have in 2001, ’02, or even ’03. But did management accomplish what it wanted, and needed, to do? Absolutely.

Boston shipped out a player who no longer wanted to compete in this city, and in return, got two who do. Sure, one may be gone in a couple months, but until that time, he’ll play his heart out every game, and that’s what Boston fans want, and respect. That’s what endeared Nomar to us in the first place.

As a sportstalk caller just said – “Nomar’s a cub now, but if he had the heart of the Lion, he’d have finished his career in Boston.”

Couldn’t have said it better.

As for the rest of the MLB trade deadline deals, well let’s quickly look at who won and who lost.

WINNERS

Cubs – No doubt here. The Cubs got the guy they wanted – Nomar – and gave up exactly NONE of their major league roster to get him (unless you count Ricky Gutierrez from a previous Sox/Cubs deal). The Sox wanted Matt Clement, the Cubs held fast and said no. They are a serious force for the wild card now.

RED SOX – Just as I said, they did what they had to do. They shipped an unhappy player out of town and upgraded two positions in the process. Yes, they will miss the offensive production, but with the upgraded infield defense (Imagine an infield of Mueller, Cabrera, Reese and Mientkiewicz… wow), they may have added a whole new pitcher in Derek Lowe. And what’s even more amazing? I spelled Mientkiewicz right without looking it up. That ranks with Scheurholz and Kreyzewski as toughest sports names I’ve ever spelled right on the first try.

MARLINS – Everyone (including me) wrote this team off about three weeks ago at the break. Then they went out and got one of the better young catchers in baseball and perhaps the best middle/late reliever in the game, and gave up an overweight pitcher and a first baseman who almost broke his neck tripping over the pitcher’s mound. Not to mention they got Josh Beckett off the DL. We’ll have to see how long Benitez is out, but now they have Mota to step in and close for a week or so. They’ll make a serious run at Atlanta for the division title.

LOSERS

DODGERS – This may turn out to be an overstatement, as the more I think about it, the more they belong in the “INCONCLUSIVE” section. But they gave away a great setup guy, a very good catcher, and an above average young outfielder to get an aging center fielder, overweight starting pitcher, and the aforementioned tripping first baseman. I don’t know, maybe they’re OK. But on paper, they got hosed.

NEW YORK METS – Truth be told, I could put both New York teams here, since the Yankees only needed one thing (a certain 6’10” lefty), and they didn’t get it. They instead chose to give up on Jose Contreras, and in exchange for him and a pile of cash, they got Esteban Loaiza – a starting pitcher who has had exactly one good major league season.

But the Mets, stunningly, did worse. They were 6.5 games out of the wild card and seven games out of the NL East at the deadline, but instead of cashing in on this season, they shipped out their most prized prospect, Scott Kazmir, to get two average starting pitchers. Yes, Kris Benson was considered the best available starter at the deadline, but that isn’t saying much. Victor Zambrano is NOT the answer in your starting rotation, period. So they are now stuck with these contracts for a while, as well as a far worse-off farm system for years to come. And after a sweep by the Braves (HAHAHA), they are now 9 back in the East and 8.5 in the Wild Card. Interesting direction that the front office took here. And yes, I’m fully prepared for my Mets-fan friends to rip me for this analysis…

TORONTO – They didn’t move any of their high-priced contracts. Not really a loser, as much as they were a non-mover. That will hurt them in the long run.

DIAMONDBACKS – They couldn’t move Randy Johnson, although they really didn’t want to. They now have a very young team, minus one former all-star center fielder and one former all-star left fielder, plus one 6’10” lefty who may not be the happiest guy on the planet for the next year and a half.

PHILLIES – No movement of note, and they really needed to do something. They needed bullpen help. Nothing. They could’ve used some outfield pop. Nothing. They are stuck with what they’ve got, which isn’t bad, but it also isn’t playoff caliber either.

MARINERS – For some unknown reason, they chose to sit on all of their high-priced players that could have drawn interest from a contender, and who also could have given the team the young prospects it needs to retool for ’05 and beyond. They didn’t even field offers for Guardado, Moyer, Boone, Edgar, etc. They CUT John Olerud, who is now going to be signed by the Yankees. Seattle could have held on to Olerud and moved him to New York at the deadline – then they might have at least gotten something – ANYTHING - in return.

Again, no comment on who did the best until the season ends. If the teams that did relatively little (Cards, A’s, Phils, Braves, etc.) end up in the postseason, then maybe they were the smartest of the bunch.

Until next time, lata.

posted by Big D @ 12:00 AM