Nomar No More

Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-day contract with the Sox and officially announced his retirement from baseball as a member of the Boston nine today. The link below has a nice article and embedded video.

To join in on the mush-fest, Nomar was hands down my favorite Sox player for the longest time, and I was sad to see him leave the team in 2004. At the same time, I was glad to not have to watch him pout or struggle to stay productive defensively during his last days.

I can't imagine that his number 5 will be retired, because of the standards the Sox have put on that honor. A player needs to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and retire with the team, though we all know the Sox made an exception for Johnny Pesky's number 6.

It's interesting to note that he's joining ESPN to provide analysis. I saw him on BBTN a month or so ago and he was just awkward. I'm of the opinion that MLB Network would be a more appropriate venue, though maybe Matt Vasgersian would be too tempted to take potshots at the awkward ex-shortstop.

Either way, thanks, Beautiful.

Nomar: It's a dream fulfilled to retire as a member of the Red Sox - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Fort Myers Fluff

Here's a good piece from Gordon Edes on Pedroia. Like the issues with J.D. Drew's child several years ago, it's always eye-opening to connect with the lives of professional athletes off the field. I feel like this is one of those only-in-spring-training-because-we-don't-really-care-about-Tug-Hulett fluff pieces, but I know everyone (self included) forgets about how human these guys are during the season. Messy divorce? So what. Child with abnormal, life-threatening illness? Suck it up. Pregnancy complications? I overpaid for the guy in my auction league.

Don't we all feel a little bad?

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia fielded plenty of bad hops off the field last season - ESPN Boston

On Idiots

For some bizarre reason I decided to tune into Dennis and Callahan recently, and I happened to overhear their passionate and informed debate over Theo's decision to let Jason Bay walk, move Ellsbury to left, and sign a 37 year old Mike Cameron to patrol center. I'll not say who was most vehemently against the idea, but suffice to say that the bulk of his argument rested on one of the things I hate most: lack of perspective.

His point was that Bay was "an RBI guy" (meaning he drove in over 100), and Ellsbury wasn't (significantly less than 100). It's in the Twitter profile: I hate RBI like I hate wins. There is usable information there, but it's mostly dependent on a lot of external factors, like, say, the guys who get on base before them...

Also, moving Ellsbury to left is apparently a sure-fire way to turn a potential All-Star center fielder into the a bumbling, insecure fourth or fifth outfielder.

Really? I'd argue that moving him to left would at least save his legs a little bit, extend the duration of his speed a bit.

HGH Testing: The Logical Next Step

This has been around for a few days now, and it's getting a lot of play on the talk shows. Frankly, I'm excited about the potential precedent implications this case has for the reported implementation of HGH tests in baseball (startin with the minors).

Look, I get that there is something downright unsettling about requiring players to submit themselves to a blood test - after all, it's literally an invasion of their private bodies because of the needles used to take the samples. I really think, though, that this has to happen.

Any sport is hypocritical if it spouts off on how illegal and unethical PEDs are but then doesn't do everything it can in order to prevent their use. Even the privacy concerns are right to be put aside - if you don't agree with the rules of testing, you can feel free to not play in professional sports. Is it harsh? Absolutely, but it's not like they're not being compensated for their troubles. When you sign up you agree to a slew of regulations, and then you get to earn more in one week than most people make in a year.

Suck it up, all you players. Clean up the sport, clean up your image, and let's move on.

Report: Minor league baseball to test for HGH after 1st positive - ESPN

What happened to you, Khalil?!

I just saw this in my own sidebar, and I used to love Khalil Greene (mainly because I saw him toss a baseball to an obnoxious pink-hat fan during BP at Fenway just as that fan got nailed in the head with a liner from the batting cage...). In any case, the Globe seems to think this could push Mike Lowell to Texas.

Khalil Greene won't report to spring training for Texas Rangers - ESPN Dallas