Looks like a short stop is left for Fenway fans

June 10, 2004|Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist

Fenway returned to normal last night. No. 5 was running his sprints in the outfield before the game. He was in the first base dugout, surrounded by his equipment, concentrating like only he can, flashing that "touch-my-stuff-and-I'll-kill-you" look toward anyone who made eye contact. He signed autographs while standing by the tarp.

And he was in the batter's box, kicking the toes of his shoes into the dirt, twitching, blinking, and fidgeting with his batting gloves. Making his comeback from Achilles' tendinitis, Nomar went 1 for 2 against the Padres and was pulled from the game after a 2-hour-21-minute rain delay interrupted the sixth inning.

Enjoy watching Nomie while you can, Sox fans. These are the final days of Nomah in Boston.

Nomar at short for the Sox in 2005? You've got a better chance of seeing Grady Little making out the Sox' lineup card. Assuming he stays healthy and not counting potential playoffs, these will be Nomar Garciaparra's last 105 games with the Red Sox.

Think about it. He turned down four years and $60 million in the spring of 2003. And that was before the bad September/October, before the attempt to dump him, before the market correction, and before the mysterious injury that put him on the shelf for the first 57 games of this win-or-bust Red Sox season. He still looks as happy as a guy in the on deck circle at the root canal clinic and his agent is telling people he wants to play second base for the Yankees next year. He's already announced there'll be no Nomar Bowl in 2005. Does he need to draw a map for us?

By any measure, Garciaparra is one of the most popular Sox players of all time. He's the fourth-leading hitter in franchise history, trailing only Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, and Tris Speaker. He has played hard for every inning of every game since he first got called up at the end of the 1996 season. This is a guy who hit .372 in 2000. He's got the name, the game and the fame to put him in the Ted/Russ/Bobby/Larry Pantheon. All he needs is longevity. Too bad he won't be playing here long enough to take a seat with the elite.

Nomar got to the ballpark just before 2 p.m. yesterday, met with the Sox medical staff, and it was decided he'd return to the lineup (batting in the No. 5 spot) after five hits in 21 at-bats for Pawtucket. There was a press conference at 4:15, and Garciaparra said just about nothing.

We were hoping for one of those Maxwellian "Hop on my back, boys, and I'll take you on home from here" speeches but by now we know that that's not Nomie.

"I'll never be 100 percent," he conceded. "I just said I'd come back when I was ready to play . . . It's like Opening Day for me. The great thing is I get to play baseball."