Nomar Sounds Off



Red Sox SS Nomar Garciaparra was on WEEI earlier today, expressing his dismay that the club haven't kept him abreast of what's happening --- perhaps they figured that if Curt Schilling can stay up all night reading fan sites, what's stopping Nomar?

Nomar made similar remarks in this morning's Boston Herald, talking on the telephone to Tony Massarotti.

   ``Basically, what I'd like to say is that I know there's always been this speculation that I'm unhappy there (in Boston). I've heard it and read it -- that I want to go home (to California) and I'm unhappy -- and I don't know where that comes from,'' Garciaparra said by phone yesterday, slightly more than two weeks after being wed to women's soccer star Mia Hamm.
     ``No words have ever come out of my mouth -- publicly or privately -- that I don't want to be there,'' Garciaparra said. ``I also believe that my actions have shown I don't want out of there. I go out there and play hard and give it my all, day in and day out, not just on the field, but off. I have a (charitable) foundation there. I'm coming back in January to do my 10th hitting camp, I think.
     ``Before we got married, my wife and I purchased a new home (in the Boston area),'' Garciaparra concluded. ``If you look at all that, I wouldn't do all that stuff if I wanted to leave.''
``My heart and my first option have always been (with Boston) and it hasn't strayed from that,'' Garciaparra said. ``The ball's really in (upper management's) court. But if there is any question about my unhappiness, that's been answered.''
     While the Los Angeles Dodgers and Anaheim Angels are obvious candidates for Garciaparra's services given the player's native roots in Southern California, Garciaparra's contract with the Sox does call for an interesting provision if the player is traded. One of them would require the Sox to pay Garciaparra the appraised value of his Boston-area home if he is unable to sell the property within six months; and if Garciaparra were to sell his home at a loss, the Sox would be required to make up the difference.
     Garciaparra also confirmed reports that he and Hamm have a home in Texas, but Garciaparra laughed at speculation that the home meant he has any desire to play for either the Rangers or Houston Astros.
     ``I wish the person who wrote that would get a map of Texas,'' said Garciaparra, whose new home is in the Austin area. ``It would be like someone saying now that I want to play in New York -- that's how far I live from any team in Texas right now.''
     Often criticized in Boston for a reluctance to deal with the media and be the charismatic spokesperson the club could more easily and more effectively market, Garciaparra acknowledged he doesn't ``make life easy for (the media) and I admit it.'' But he believes he has accommodated Sox officials when asked to represent the team and said he has never done anything to disgrace the Red Sox.
``I think I'm kind of like the fans are. If you were a fan looking at this, you might think, `Are they really considering this option?' '' Garciaparra said when asked if he would be disappointed at being traded.
     ``I've always respected the uniform that I've worn. It's been the only uniform I know and it's the only uniform I want to know for my entire career,'' Garciaparra said. ``That's basically how I feel.''

Posted: Mon - December 8, 2003 at 12:57 PM      

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