These aren’t your father’s Cubs. We tried to impress that on you last year when they put their head down and plowed through September to the playoffs. They won Chicago’s first baseball playoff series since 1917. In the offseason they added a six-time Cy Young Award winner and a big bat for first base.
But today…today they grew a pair.
The Cubs never trade for the big name at the trade deadline. They never throw caution to the wind and sac it up and get the guy everybody wants.
That much was true until about 2:55 p.m. on Saturday, July 31.
In a move that took their current 25-man roster and only dispatched of Alex Gonzalez…the Cubs added the big name (literally) in Nomar Garciaparra.
Take a moment to savor it. When was the last time the city of Chicago…not just the Cubs…pulled off something like this? This doesn’t happen to us everyday. But it happened today.
How will it work out? Who knows? What we do know is that it’s going to be fun.
Dusty Baker knew it had happened when he walked into the interview room after the game but couldn’t comment on it. He was asked, “What does this mean now that you guys stood pat?” Dusty said, “Who says we stood pat?”
They did anything but.
So Nomar…achy Achilles and all is on a plane from Minneapolis to Chicago. He’ll be in uniform tomorrow to try and help Greg Maddux win his 300th game.
And if you think Maddux is upset that Nomar’s arrival will overshadow his big day, you don’t know Greg Maddux. If he could win his 300th game and mail it in like an absentee ballot, he’d do it.
For now, just kick back and give this a shot. Clear your throat and yell out your first
Nomahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! There’ll be plenty more to come.
WGN radio is reporting we gave up only Gonzo (good riddance), Francis Beltran, and Brendan Harris.
They finally made a move!
Nomahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
We gave up Justin Jones too, but when you give up K-Gonz and 3 prospects not named Pie, Guzman or Brownlie it is a good day.
C Michael Barrett
1B Derrek Lee
2B Todd Walker
3B Aramis Ramirez
SS Nomar Garciaparra
OF Moises Alou
OF Corey Patterson
OF Sammy Sosa
SP Kerry Wood
SP Mark Prior
SP Greg Maddux
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Matt Clement
So, now, seriously…where do you put me?
Walkielanek
Me
Sosa
Alou
Ramirez
Lee
Patterson
Barrett
That is just crazy. Talk about stacked! How about moving a slumping Sosa down?
Walkielanek
Barrett
Ramirez
Yours truly
Alou
Lee
Sosa
Patterson
Oh, man…does it even matter? There isn’t an automatic out in the lineup…except for tomorrow when Paul Bako plays…
Hooray! My oh-fer four evenings in Montreal is oh-fer five Canadian!
And in Puerto Rican dollars…um…rats…it’d be oh-fer four again. Damn!
Now we have to play Todd Walker at second you would think!! After all they played together all of last season at second and short! Mark G. can finally, hopefully, ride the bench.
Nomarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Hey guys, anyone know who the hell I am?
Am I the Dontrelle Willis of this deal?
Does it even matter?
"Cubs manager Dusty Baker said he wasn’t sure where he’d fit Garciaparra into the Cubs lineup, but called it a nice luxury to have."
I think we know what that means!
Grudzielanek
Patterson
Sosa
Alou
Ramirez
Lee
Garciaparra
Barrett
Pitcher
I’m going to make Jim Hendry sorry he gave me up just to rent Nomar. next year Nomar will be starring for the Dodgers and I’ll be the best RH reliever in the NL.
Would have liked to see Guardado or Urbina come to town, but this is a huge upgrade, for very little sacrifice.
Think the $15M they’re gicing Clement and Alou this year goes to Nomah next year?
Justin Jones is a Cubs pitching prospect in A-ball with the Lugnuts. This year’s stats:
3-3 3.78ERA, 64.1IP, 37BB, 105K, 62H.
He’s one of our better minor league pitchers, but he’s still a ways from being in the majors.
I’m not going to wring my hands over losing prospects for one of the best shortstops in baseball. We may look back in 5 years and see that some of the guys we gave up have become good players, but Jim Hendry did what Cub fans have been begging him to do. He grabbed the bull by the balls and made quite possibly the best deal of the year. I’m glad the freak in AZ rejected the original trade to the BoSox, we gave up less in this trade, and with Johnson stuck in the desert, there’s no chance we see him in the playoffs.
gicing = giving.
It’s hard to type with one hand.
Ex-Cub prospects
Justin Jones
LHP
Level: Class A (Lansing)
G: 14
W-L: 3-3
ERA: 3.78
WHIP: 1.31
BB/K: 22/59
IP: 64 1/3
Brendan Harris
IF
Level: Triple A (Iowa)
G: 68
AB: 250
AVG: .308
OBP: .372
SLG: .520
BB/K: 16/39
HR: 10
R: 47
RBI: 33
SB/CS: 0/2
Francis Beltran
RHP
Level: Triple A (Iowa)
G: 5
W-L: 0-0
SV: 3
ERA: 1.69
WHIP: 0.78
BB/K: 1/6
IP: 5 1/3
Of course Brendan Harris and Francis Beltran had time in the majors, along with the other fella traded in this deal, Alex Gonzalez.
This is a great deal if the Cubs can sign Nomar. If not, the sting won’t be as bad as it seems. Harris seems to be a potential major leaguer, but not as a Cub. Beltran can be effective if he rights his ship soon, which he does have the raw materials to do so. Jones looks promising but is a ways off from contributing.
Like a previous post said, keeping Brownlie, Pie, Guzman, and Clement was almost as big as the deal itself.
OK maybe not as big, but … NOMAR!!!!! HOMAR NOMAR!
better get used to two things…
1) A Cub shortstop actually being on base, and…
2) Pat Huges has time to crunch one out during a Nomar at-bat
You aren’t just getting rent-a-player Nomar. You are getting me as well for the future.
I’m 22 yrs old, 6’1, 215 lbs, hitting around .300 with 11 HR’s with the SaraSox, some decent speed (5 SB’s), and I can draw walks and strikeout with the best of them:
http://geocities.com/beesball/murton.html
See my stats:
http://www.sarasox.com/
Seems like a win-win, Cubs, Yanks better off, Sox (White & Red) worse at the end of the day…
Since Doug Eyechart was (briefly) a Cub, is there any way to get an Eyechart jersey?
When I saw the deal announcement on ESPN and the players involved I spontaneously burst into the Ray Lewis pregame dance completely unintentionally.
E-ramis for Bobby Hill. Derrek Lee for Hee Seop Choi (yeah, Florida loved him so much they traded him to LA, you morans that questioned my genius). And now Nomahhh for BBeltran, Alex Gonzalez and Brendan Harris?
BOO YAH L’IL THEO EPSTEIN! Like stealing candy from a baby.
Not to mention the additions of Walker, Holly, Hawkins and Greggie. Hell, if this team doesn’t make it to the postseason, it ain’t on me.
Oh, I also brought home one of Boston’s top prospects from A-level and some cash. Go win some games now, huh, team?
If you told me this week the Cubs would get Nomar without sending Clement over, I’d be amazed. Hell, George Ofman reported this morning that his sources said the Red Sox had to be overwhelmed to move Nomar.
Who are Ofman’s sources?
Lucky me. I was able to get tickets to tomorrow’s game when tickets went on sale in Feb. I thought the phillies would be pretty good, and that they’d probably be hitting their stride w/o Larry Bowa. And since the time was "TBA" I thought it would be a fun ESPN game.
Little did I know it would be Maddux’s 300th AND NOMAR’S GODDAMN DEBUT!
I will be very drunk before the Phillies are done with BP tomorrow.
If you told me this week the Cubs would get Nomar without sending Clement over, I’d be amazed. Hell, George Ofman reported this morning that his sources said the Red Sox had to be overwhelmed to move Nomar.
Who are Ofman’s sources?
Lucky me. I was able to get tickets to tomorrow’s game when tickets went on sale in Feb. I thought the phillies would be pretty good, and that they’d probably be hitting their stride w/o Larry Bowa. And since the time was "TBA" I thought it would be a fun ESPN game.
Little did I know it would be Maddux’s 300th AND NOMAR’S GODDAMN DEBUT!
I will be very drunk before the Phillies are done with BP tomorrow.
Look, we’re the new Clettite!
OK this is certainly worth mentioning.
Check out Nomar’s player profile on http://www.baseball-reference.com and his ‘Similar Batters By Age’ category.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/garcino01.shtml
Go ahead .. check it!
Alright for you lazy asses .. NOMAR = MR. CUB!
Harris wasn’t going to start at second next year.
I am.
Brush up on your French, Brendan and Alex.
We got Alex Gonzalez! I must go tell the other 234 Expos fans!
Cubs
7 Todd Walker, 2b
8 Nomar Garciaparra, ss (that just looks sweet)
21 Sammy Sosa, rf
18 Moises Alou, lf
25 Derrek Lee, 1b
16 E-ramis Ramirez, 3b
20 Corey Patterson, cf
9 Gabor Bako, c
31 Greg Maddux, p
I have just reported on the 670 the Score that Nomar Garciaparra is making his major league debut today. The Cubs claim that he played 7 seasons in Boston but the Cubs are LYING!!
here are now 233 of you I hopped off the bandwagon
I was just watching a thing on ESPN about Maddux and I got to thinking.
Just how bad were things at the end of the 2002 season? Don Baylor’s era had ended miserably, Bruce Kimm was a joke and the Cubs were just floating along in their normal death spiral.
If I had told you then that a season and a half later that Dusty Baker would be the manager, Greg Maddux would be back and Nomar would be coming to play shortstop, you’d have had me locked up.
I’m confused and disoriented.
Happy, but confused and disoriented.
Now let’s go get that wild card.
Despite my merely good but not dominant stats this season, I am one of the top lefty prospects in all of baseball. I am going to be a stud in the major leagues. But now the Cubs have Nomar and they still have tons of great young pitching on the roster and in the minors, so don’t worry about it! Have fun cheering me on in a few years as I become yet another Minnesota tormentor of the White Sox!
You may remember me from the two or three games I sat on the bench for the Chicago Cubs earlier this year. I may not have distinguished myself then, but I may be the biggest loss in this deal. I’m a really good hitter and I could have been your 2nd baseman next year, or at least a platoon partner with Todd Walker if he were to come back. I’d be cheap too, which would have allowed more money to spend on SS, LF, or resigning Matt Clement. But now I’m going to play 3rd base for the Expos, and you won’t notice.
But don’t worry! You got Nomar! And I’m sure Mr. Hendry will figure out something to do about 2nd base next year.
Is Justin Jones going to be better than me?
I think he will. But whatever. The Cubs will still have better pitching than my team or Justin’s or anyone else’s.
Y’all know I have awesome stuff. I might become a totally dominant closer, or a really great setup man. But in a bullpen-of-the-next-few-years that can feature other hardthrowing righthanders like Hawkins, Farnsworth, Wellemeyer, Leicester, and all the great pitching prospects that don’t get a shot at the rotation because it’s so full, will you really miss me?
Maybe, but you got Nomar!
I sure am nice to have.
Hi. You might see me hitting real good in the Cubs lineup in a few years. I’m a good hitter who hits for average, power, walks, and doesn’t strike out that much. And I was a first round draft pick in 2003 who is performing well in high-A ball already, so I have both a pedigree and strong performance to back it up. Me and Pie and Ryan Harvey and Corey Patterson are a very nice group of young outfielders to have in an organization. I’m sure three of us would make a great outfield if one decides to suck or get traded.
Haha, Brendan. Like I would’ve ever played YOU at second next year. Walker’s like 30 years old, and he’s still too much of a youngin’ to play every day over old man Grud.
"I am going to be a stud in the major leagues"
Eh. We shall see, Justin.
"Let’s go get that wild card!" Oh, the inspiration!
Lest y’all forget, I’m only playing five games a week, tops. More than Kerry and Mark combined, of course, but seldom enough to annoy the easily irked/quick to whine Cubbie nation.
Ken Williams
General Manager
Chicago White Sox
35th & Shields
Chicago, IL
Dear Mr. Williams:
As the trade deadline has now passed, I wanted to just send you a quick note of thanks.
You taught me all I know about making solid trades for my team. This last one I made with Minnesota, Montreal and the Cubs was quite a peach!
My best,
Theo Epstein
I know this is WAY after-the-fact, but there are some things you have to remember about the deal:
1. Nomar wasn’t coming back here, even at gunpoint. He said he liked the fans here, but he hated anyone that represented the Red Sox.
2. There are rumors abound about that Achilles’ tendon you just inherited. The newest one says he inured it playing soccer. Translation: he’s more hurt than he let on.
3. His anger at management basically made him a minor malcontent, and considering there were questions about his health, I’m surprised they got a single MLB player in the deal, let alone two.
4. Dealing Nomar to you just send a message to the other three FAs here: Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, and Jason Varitek, and the message is "no one is above the logo."
All in all, you got a great guy, but you just better hope he can avoid a second DL stint.
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