Injury question raised

Sources: Garciaparra offered different story

August 05, 2004|Globe Staff

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- His story never wavered. From the beginning, Nomar Garciaparra attributed the tendinitis in his right Achilles' tendon to a ball striking him in batting practice before an exhibition game between the Red Sox and Northeastern University March 5 at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla. But Garciaparra said he never knew who hit the ball. And no one else in the organization acknowledged hitting the ball or witnessing the incident.

As it turns out, the episode may not have happened. Two sources familiar with Garciaparra's case said yesterday that Garciaparra told a different story to club officials, but the team never contradicted the shortstop's story, even though club officials were aware it wasn't accurate. One source said he was told Garciaparra was injured before spring training.

Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, called the assertion "absolutely, positively [expletive]. Totally, unequivocally, positively false."

Garciaparra, after initial projections he would be out for just a few days, missed the first 57 games because of the injury. Sox general manager Theo Epstein said he traded Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs last Saturday after the shortstop told manager Terry Francona and team trainers three days earlier that he would probably need to miss "significant" playing time this month because of the injury and would likely require more time on the disabled list. The day after the trade, Garciaparra denied saying that.

Francona and Epstein last night declined comment on the latest development, saying the Sox had agreed the night before with Tellem to halt a public dispute that centered on Garciaparra's physical condition and the reasons why the club and the five-time All-Star were unable to agree on a contract extension that would have kept him in Boston.

Why Garciaparra would shield the exact nature of his injury is unknown. One possible explanation is that his value on the free agent market could be diminished if he suffered from a chronic case of Achilles' tendinitis rather than from an injury from a specific trauma. Another possibility was that he wanted to avoid additional questions about the rigorous training program for elite athletes in which he participates each winter at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz.

Why the Sox would participate in masking the cause of Garciaparra's injury also remained in question, though teams have been known to shade the exact nature of player injuries.