Nomar Garciaparra returned to the starting lineup last night, for the first time this season. He was slotted at third base and took the spot of Blake DeWitt, who later pinch ran for the oft-injured No-mah. Garciaparra's return was a little surprising, if only because most people thought he would join the Blue on Friday instead.The sight of Mr. Mia Hamm's moniker on the card threw all press types for a loop, as word on the street was Friday as a target date. The front office consensus, however, is that Garciaparra won't be any healthier in 48 hours than he is right now, so there's no real harm in tossing him back into the fray.Nomar went one for two with a pair of walks as the Dodgers throttle-jobbed the Pirates, and his return, especially with Andy LaRoche still on the mend, has to be somewhat comforting to Dodger fans. However, two quick points. First, Nomar is not going to solve the offensive quagmire in the outfield (Andruw Jones is still in a funk and Juan Pierre is still on the roster; it really is more "boggy" than "giggity" in every sense of the situation).
Second, this guy just can't win. Regardless of Mia Hamm and piles of money. We're talking about the face of the Red Sox and their losing ways ... until Theo Epstein shipped him out and they won a championship. And whether or not he has a 2004 championship ring (I think he does), well, it doesn't really matter since that's like catching the garter belt at your ex-wife's wedding reception. In other words, I think expecting a full, healthy and productive season is a bit of a reach.
Bonus Fantasy Spin: Nomar is not a prime option for fantasy owners. However, he can still hit for decent average and a little pop (roughly .290 something and 27 homers over his 800 odd at bats with the Dodgers) so I suppose you could do worse. Not by much, but you could do worse. But if you're stuck with a 3B or 1B option that's not cutting it right now, he's at least worth a look.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-17-2008 @ 8:14PM
Martin said...
The Dodgers were fools to pay big bucks for Andruw Jones. They had a reasonable alternative in Juan Pierre and should have used the extra money on pitching rather than hitting. I know a lot of people don't care much for Pierre, but most of them are fantasy baseball idiots who believe that the points system of fantasy baseball equates to the real thing. The problem with fantasy baseball is that it fails to adequately credit speed. Speed on the base paths equates to the middle hitters seeing more fastballs, the pitcher being more distracted when pitching to the middle of the order hitters, fielders committing more errors because of having to speed up their play, and fewer double plays, none of which results in any substantial benefit to the fantasy owner of a speedy player. The biggest knock on Pierre is his failure to get a lot of base on balls, hence a lower than average on-base percentage. However, he does generally bat around .300 year in and year out, rarely strikes out, making him a good player to play hit and run, and steals 50 to 60 bases a year.
As for Nomar not being able to win, that is perhaps the most absurd statement I've heard. One player does not bring a World Championship to a team, nor cause it to fail to win a world championship.
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