Projo Sox Blog

Nomar Garciaparra hasn't done a whole lot of public reflection over the years on his career with the Red Sox -- a time when Garciaparra seemed to be a Cooperstown-bound talent, and when the hopes of a long-frustrated fan base seemed to rest on his shoulders. This week may be the week for it all to change, when Garciaparra finally makes his first Fenway appearance as a visiting player.

Injuries, which had already begun to take their toll on Garciaparra before the epic midseason trade that sent him out of Boston in 2004, have continued to nag the 35-year-old this season. He has battled calf problems in his first campaign with the Oakland Athletics, and has appeared in just 31 of the team's 80 games to this point.

In the four full seasons since Garciaparra left the Red Sox, he has never played in more than 122 games. That 122-game season was 2006, with the Dodgers, which also was the only post-Boston season in which Garciaparra hit double figures in home runs (20) and the only one in which he hit over .300.

This season, Garciaparra is hitting .257 with a low .293 on-base percentage and two home runs. He's been used sparingly, particularly during interleague play, when Garciaparra's defensive liabilities have precluded his being in the lineup.

Garciaparra will certainly be answering a lot of questions about his Fenway memories over these next few nights, but he began talking about them over the weekend. Speaking about the Sox' 2004 world championship, which was won after Garciaparra had been unloaded to the Cubs, Nomar said he had positive feelings about the team's accomplishment, even if he wasn't there to enjoy it.

"I got my ring for that. I was cheering them on and rooting for them," Garciaparra said yesterday from Cleveland, where the Athletics were completing a series pitting two last-place teams, according to San Francisco Chronicle beat writer John Shea.

"I was just as much a part of that as anything, although I might not have been there. No one knows all the phone calls I got during it and everything, and that was great. I was calling them back multiple times. The whole thing was to win one for the city. I felt every bit a part of it."

When asked about whether he would get a positive reception from Fenway fans, Garciaparra said: "I would hope so. I always loved them and appreciated them. They were great to me, and I gave them everything I had there, for sure."

Your Turn: Looking back, how do you feel about Nomar Garciaparra's time with the Red Sox?

 Tags  Nomar Garciaparra Oakland Athletics

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