On Nomar Garciaparra

One of my friends thought that I had already written this column back in April. That was after Ramirez went down the day I posted a column suggesting we might excuse him for taking it easy in some situations, only to watch him pull a quad running to first. He thought that maybe I had jinxed both guys, but actually it was just Ramirez (if you believe in that sort of thing). Now, we’ll see if I also jinx Nomar when he gets his own column.



Then again, given Nomar’s recent track record, maybe this is like arguing that the sun is due to take a day off tomorrow, and then saying in the morning I jinxed the sunrise. (Consider that the double-reverse anti-jinx, since I do believe in that sort of thing.) Anyway, I’m running out of guys to talk about, and who wants to read 1,500 words on Michael Wuertz, or other Cubs relievers? Most of us would settle for three: Less walks, please.

Like a lot of Cubs fans who don’t belong to fantasy baseball leagues, I tend to neglect what’s going on in the American League. Some of it filters over through SportsCenter and various other ubiquitous media. This much is unavoidable. Nevertheless, I have to say that I’m entirely uninformed about the American League as a general rule.

That’s why I reacted the way a lot of Cubs fans did when the Cubs acquired Nomar from Boston: we didn’t know all that much about the recent theatrics, and we didn’t care. All we knew was that this guy was a proven career hitter, and could provide the RBIs and run opportunities that the lineup needed if he was healthy. If Nomar was looking for an explanation for the overwhelming positive reaction he received in Chicago, it’s simple: in 2004, we were Boston-oblivious self-absorbed fans with just the tiniest tinge of desperation, looking for hope.

Well, Nomar wasn’t completely healthy last season, and it probably wouldn’t have made all that much of a difference if he was. So last winter, as Moises Alou had worn out his welcome with the Cubs, and Sammy Sosa decided the Cubs had worn out their welcome with him, the most common questions about the lineup were (1) Who will hit leadoff? and (2) Who will compensate for the missing RBIs? The Cubs answered the first question with a resounding shrug of their shoulders. They answered the second -- for better or worse -- by taking a flyer on Nomar.

I was behind this move 100 percent. I hadn’t seen Nomar hit all that often, but any guy that can win two batting titles -- one in a season where he hit .372 -- was alright by me. I know that some people argue that batting average is overrated, and I’m willing to concede that point for the most part. But, as I argued earlier regarding Lee’s batting title chase, at the outer edge, where the highest batting averages sit, I think that batting average is still the best gauge of who are the best hitters in the league. If you look back, it’s hard to deny that the best hitters of a season are the ones with the four or five highest batting averages, and this is not coincidental. And .372? That is just plain freaking remarkable. With an incentive-based contract and something to prove, I was excited for Nomar to hit for the Cubs. Anyone that can hit .372 for a season cannot be a streaky hitter; he must be a great hitter.

Spring training rolled around, and Nomar was slapping the ball around in every direction, and we heard that he was putting on line drive displays that the Cubs haven’t seen since Mark Grace left town. Peter Gammons went so far as to predict Garciaparra as his NL MVP, and I thought, why not? It was shaping up as a story of redemption, for Nomar and maybe even for the team. I thought Mia Hamm day was ridiculous -- and part of me wonders in jest if this was a Mrs. Christie incentive they tagged onto his contract -- but if it’s harebrained, it speaks a lot more to flaws elsewhere in culture than to flaws with the Cubs. (If it’s not ridiculous, it speaks to my personal flaws.)

In all places, it was in the valley of the enemy where Nomar slipped out of the batting box at Busch Stadium and tore his groin muscle from his leg, and that was that. It’s not entirely owed to Nomar’s absence, but the Cubs struggled to score runs. He had skidded mightily those first three weeks of the season, but now there would be no snapping out of a slump. Nomar’s absence and its fallout figured significantly in why the Cubs season never took shape, until finally waiting for the season to take shape became the defining characteristic of the season. And of course, by then it’s too late. Plenty of people have realized that they missed an opportunity while they were waiting for it to materialize.

Too late, then, is when Nomar returned. Since he’s been playing every day, he’s shown us the kind of hitter he still is, driving the ball with force to both alleys, knocking in runs, and even hitting a few out of the park. I love watching him hit, but I hate asking “what if” about a Cubs lineup last May and June that includes Nomar hitting this way.

Defensively, he’s not all that great right now at third base. He has a great arm, and seems to have a quick first reaction, but he still doesn’t have all that much range. This would have been even more of a problem at shortstop, especially since Ramirez has been better to his right than to the hole at short. I have a feeling those two would have let a lot of balls skip between them to left field. Of course, a lot of that is a result of their respective injuries, which brings us to the matter of next season.

I think we’re getting a hint that the Cubs are still interested in Nomar from the chatter that Cedeno will be playing both shortstop and second base in winter ball, although some people take this as a sign that they will be going after Rafael Furcal. Don’t get me wrong: I am thrilled with Cedeno. I think that he is going to be a solid major leaguer for many years, because all the pieces are there: he doesn’t have any big flaw for opponents to exploit. Yet, if the Cubs wanted to give Nomar one more shot, I’ll be all for it, especially knowing that Cedeno is a fine Plan B.

(Although, if they want Cedeno to play second, part of me will be upset because Todd Walker is also a fine hitter, and solid defensively. Plus, I really like what Jerry Hairston brings to the discussion. Still, one thing that’s clear is that there isn’t room for both Cedeno and Neifi Perez on a team managed by Dusty Baker. At this point, from all the playing time Neifi still gets, I can only conclude that Niefi is Darren Baker’s personal baby-sitter. It’s either that or blackmail, right?)

Back to Nomar, I know it’s easy to say in retrospect that the Cubs were unwise for pinning so much hope on a guy many view as fragile. To their credit -- I guess -- many people suggested this at the time of the initial trade, and when they signed him back for a one-year contract. I’m sure I’m not going to convince these skeptics that bringing him back for another season is wise by volunteering a stance that at its core is not much more than “I really like watching Nomar hit now.”

So here is perhaps a better reason: what it comes down to is RBIs. If Cubs fans are looking for a picketing campaign to stage outside the Tribune Tower, our slogan should be “RBI hits in 2006!” The Cubs outfield in 2006 is no lock for solid run production, largely because none of us have any idea who will be out there. On top of that, barring a marquis trade or signing, everyone we speculate might be out there has uncertain or inconsistent RBI numbers. Moreover, free agent signings or trades do not just happen because one team has a need; there are market forces of supply as well. One way to mitigate that uncertainty is with an RBI producing shortstop like Nomar. (Furcal is not a high RBI producing shortstop, and I doubt Cedeno will be either.)

The Cubs are fortunate to have such solid RBI production from Lee and Ramirez, leaving them (theoretically) with more of a need for outfielders that can create extra RBI opportunities. The Cubs do not need an outfielder to hit cleanup, and they are lucky in this respect. A healthy Nomar solidifies this freedom from dependency on slugging corner outfielders. That was the thinking last off-season, and to me it’s still sound.

Of course, there will still be people who question whether we will ever again see a healthy Nomar for a full season. Who am I to guess? Like Dusty might say, “I ain’t no doctor.” All I can say is that the last few weeks, I’ve finally seen Nomar hit the way his career numbers indicate he should, and I really like it. If not him, the Cubs definitely could use someone like him or we’re in for another year of leaky lineups. I’m hoping the Cubs give him one more shot, because the payoff could be such a potent lineup that I get as giddy as Sam Malone at a stewardess convention thinking about it.

Part of me knows that if they do this, I will have to listen to a lot of talk about how the Cubs will once again be “counting on players that are frankly somewhat risky,” with Nomar and Kerry Wood leading the discussion points. So be it. Let’s roll the dice for one more season and see what happens.