Nomar Garciaparra

Front and center on the set of ESPN's Baseball Tonight show, flanked by a seasoned host and a fellow analyst, Nomar Garciaparra dominates conversation, never short on strong opinions or inside knowledge. The former Red Sox star, known when he was a player for being tight-lipped, is effusive and animated, breaking down playoff races in the Major Leagues, ticking off points with his fingers. He talks about player acquisitions and pitching staffs, about speed on the base paths and home run hitting.

Remembering 10 noteworthy moments en route to the Red Sox' 2004 World Series championship: 1. Dynamite debuts April 6 - Sox 4, Orioles 1 After starting the season without Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon, and losing the opener behind Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke make their debuts. Schilling, who goes on to win more games than any pitcher in the majors, starts a trend in which he goes 12-3 after Sox losses. He pitches much of the season with his injured ankle numbed by an anesthetic and finishes on a 20-4 run to help propel the Sox into the playoffs.

Great player. Total fraud. Welcome home, Nomie. I hate to be the fly in the punch bowl here, but yesterday’s lovefest involving Nomar Garciaparra and the Red Sox was truly nauseating. If Nomar had been hooked up to a polygraph, the machine would have exploded. Truly unbelievable. There was Nomar, seated between Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein, telling us how much he always loved the Red Sox, how much he loved the Nation. Gag me. This was like watching Paul McCartney holding hands with Yoko Ono, telling us how much he always loved John Lennon’s wife — in a pathetic effort to...

No matter what kind of numbers shortstop Nick Punto puts up for the Boston Red Sox this season, none will be bigger than the one on his back. Punto is wearing No. 5 this season, which carries a lot of weight in Red Sox lore. It's the number that fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra wore at shortstop for the Red Sox for nine years. Garciaparra was a five-time All-Star and the AL Rookie of the Year in 1997. Punto, who signed a two-year, $3 million deal with Boston in the winter after winning the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals last season, is a student of the game, so the...

Remembering 10 noteworthy moments en route to the Red Sox' 2004 World Series championship: 1. Dynamite debuts April 6 - Sox 4, Orioles 1 After starting the season without Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon, and losing the opener behind Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke make their debuts. Schilling, who goes on to win more games than any pitcher in the majors, starts a trend in which he goes 12-3 after Sox losses. He pitches much of the season with his injured ankle numbed by an anesthetic and finishes on a 20-4 run to help propel the Sox into the playoffs.

CHICAGO -- Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra missed yesterday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers because of a strained left wrist and his status is day to day. Garciaparra said he strained his wrist in batting practice Friday in Houston. It's the longest the five-time All-Star has been out since being traded to the Cubs July 31 from the Red Sox. "He's good, but not great," manager Dusty Baker said. "We are hoping he will be all right tomorrow with treatment. " Garciaparra took batting practice yesterday.

ST. LOUIS -- Nomar Garciaparra of the Chicago Cubs was carried off the field with a groin injury after grounding into a double play, then collapsing just in front of the batter's box in the third inning of last night's game against the Cardinals. The slumping Garciaparra, hitting .157 after going 0 for 2 with a strikeout, took a few steps toward first base before falling. The team said the severity of the injury to Garciaparra's left groin was unclear and said he likely would undergo an MRI exam today.

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers seldom win with the long ball. They're a good hitting team, with an NL-leading .275 batting average heading into last night's game against Pittsburgh, but home runs are for teams such as the Reds, Phillies, and Braves. Not the Dodgers. That was before their stunning outburst Monday night, when the first four batters in the ninth inning homered to force extra innings in an 11-10, 10-inning victory over the San Diego Padres. Nomar Garciaparra provided the icing on the cake with a two-run walkoff homer off Rudy Seanez after San Diego took a 10-9 lead in the...

A steady flow of Red Sox fans returning from a pilgrimage in St. Louis included many passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 2044 from Chicago to Boston yesterday morning. Decked out in their Red Sox hats, jerseys, and T-shirts, the loyalists couldn't help but notice the front page of Thursday's USA Today that was taped to the cabin wall as they entered the airplane ("Sox Reverse Curse" screamed the headline). They were treated to heartfelt "congratulations" from flight attendants and upon touch-down at Logan Airport, they were told the local time, then instructed "to...

No matter what kind of numbers shortstop Nick Punto puts up for the Boston Red Sox this season, none will be bigger than the one on his back. Punto is wearing No. 5 this season, which carries a lot of weight in Red Sox lore. It's the number that fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra wore at shortstop for the Red Sox for nine years. Garciaparra was a five-time All-Star and the AL Rookie of the Year in 1997. Punto, who signed a two-year, $3 million deal with Boston in the winter after winning the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals last season, is a student of the game, so...

Front and center on the set of ESPN's Baseball Tonight show, flanked by a seasoned host and a fellow analyst, Nomar Garciaparra dominates conversation, never short on strong opinions or inside knowledge. The former Red Sox star, known when he was a player for being tight-lipped, is effusive and animated, breaking down playoff races in the Major Leagues, ticking off points with his fingers. He talks about player acquisitions and pitching staffs, about speed on the base paths and home run hitting.

Great player. Total fraud. Welcome home, Nomie. I hate to be the fly in the punch bowl here, but yesterday’s lovefest involving Nomar Garciaparra and the Red Sox was truly nauseating. If Nomar had been hooked up to a polygraph, the machine would have exploded. Truly unbelievable. There was Nomar, seated between Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein, telling us how much he always loved the Red Sox, how much he loved the Nation. Gag me. This was like watching Paul McCartney holding hands with Yoko Ono, telling us how much he always loved John Lennon’s wife — in a...

Hiroki Kuroda took a perfect game into the eighth inning and settled for a one-hitter, leading the Dodgers to a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves last night in Los Angeles. The win moved the Dodgers in a tie for first in the NL West with idle Arizona. Kuroda (5-6) retired the first 21 batters before Mark Teixeira lined the righthander's 70th pitch into the right-field corner for a double leading off the eighth. He was the only Atlanta base runner. The Braves flew across the country after waiting through a 1-hour, 50-minute rain delay in a 7-6,...

Six-time All-Star Nomar Garciaparra and the Dodgers agreed yesterday to an $18.5 million, two-year contract. The 33-year-old Garciaparra, the NL comeback player of the year, will get a $2.5 million signing bonus, which is deferred until 2009 and 2010, and salaries of $7.5 million next season and $8.5 million in 2008. He would get $250,000 each year for 500 plate appearances. Also, ESPN.com, citing an unidentified source, said free agent center fielder Juan Pierre has agreed to a five-year contract with the Dodgers.

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers seldom win with the long ball. They're a good hitting team, with an NL-leading .275 batting average heading into last night's game against Pittsburgh, but home runs are for teams such as the Reds, Phillies, and Braves. Not the Dodgers. That was before their stunning outburst Monday night, when the first four batters in the ninth inning homered to force extra innings in an 11-10, 10-inning victory over the San Diego Padres. Nomar Garciaparra provided the icing on the cake with a two-run walkoff homer off Rudy Seanez after San Diego took a 10-9 lead in the...

HOUSTON -- Nomar Garciaparra was just looking to make contact against Brad Lidge in the ninth inning. He ended up with his first big hit for his new team. Garciaparra hit a go-ahead grand slam off Lidge for his first RBIs with the Dodgers, sending Los Angeles to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros last night. "I just threw the barrel at it, tried to drive it," Garciaparra said. "Fortunately for me I got lucky and it went out for me. " Andy Pettitte held the Dodgers hitless until J.D. Drew homered with one out in the seventh to tie the score at 1. Lance Berkman's eighth-inning...

NEW YORK -- It's not even July yet, so how come it feels so much like October? The rational part of me wants to tell citizens of Red Sox Nation to remain calm. Last night's ugly 11-3 loss to the Yankees in the Bronx was only one game and the Sox are still 6-2 against these guys this year. The pitching matchups favor the Sox tonight and tomorrow, and we're not even halfway through the season yet. On the other hand, the Yankees were 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox on the morning of April 29, and today they lead Boston by a season-high 6 1/2 games (seven in the loss column)

MALDEN -- Funny place for a meeting of two power brokers who may influence the direction of the Red Sox for years to come. Flanked on one side by a shoe rental counter and on the other by coin-operated arcade games, the franchise's principal owner, John W. Henry, chatted cordially for a few minutes last night with Nomar Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, in the lobby of the Town Line Ten Pin bowling alley. Never mind that it hardly resembled the Paris Peace Talks. Five months earlier, Henry and Tellem engaged in a bitter, public dispute that raised serious questions about Garciaparra's...

Nomar Garciaparra is moving to first base with the Los Angeles Dodgers, confident it will be a smooth transition. And at age 32, he thinks he has several good years left no matter what position he plays. In Boston, Garciaparra was one of baseball's best shortstops and a five-time All-Star who won two batting titles. The Dodgers only hope he approaches that level. "One-year deals, changing positions, I'm not worried about that," Garciaparra said at a Dodger Stadium news conference yesterday -- one day after agreeing to a $6 million, one-year contract that allows him to earn an additional $4...

The Los Angeles Dodgers unloaded Milton Bradley yesterday, sending the switch-hitting outfielder to Oakland along with infielder Antonio Perez for minor league outfielder Andre Ethier , the Texas League Player of the Year. Bradley, acquired by the Dodgers shortly before the 2004 season after he had a run-in with Cleveland manager Eric Wedge , feuded with teammate Jeff Kent last season. Bradley didn't play after accusing Kent of a lack of leadership and an inability to deal with African-American players Aug. 23. The following day, Bradley learned he had...