Boston Red Sox Wrap: It's OK To Forgive Nomar Garciaparra

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For those that choose to remain wet from the Hurricane Nomar storm pattern of 2003-04, it was like hearing fingernails down a chalkboard, an irritating gesture for someone that was painted to seem like he couldn't wait to get out of town.

In this era of a new Red Sox Nation, I think it's time to forgive Nomar for his transgressions and appreciate exactly what we had here for so long. Some rationale, angry mob?

- It was a much different media era before that '04 World Series win, a media which helped fuel the raging fire of generations of angry fans and their own angry agendas. Admit it: Everyone was on edge back then and willing to snap or turn on anything.

Now after not one, but two titles? Only Julio Lugo can do wrong in our eyes.

Jason Bay isn't willing to negotiate during the season, and we rationalize it. Nomar wanting to be more in the price bracket with his peers, however, was seen as mutiny. Different era, different tolerance.

- This ownership/front office group has changed a lot as well. Ever since the great public Theo Epstein/Larry Lucchino spat of 2005, the Red Sox are a lot more guarded with how they discuss players with the media They know about how fast the wildfire can spread.

If you asked the brain-trust if they would handle the situation differently now, I think they would agree they would. Even the smartest drivers need time to adjust to new cars, and this was a Lamborghini that was about to pull onto the Autobahn.

- Putting some of this on Nomar, he definitely didn't help matters with some of the actions described above. His dispute and anger was never directed at the fans, however, but at the front office. I can understand feeling like we're part of that front office in a sense, but only to a point.

- Since the trade, it's not like Nomar has stuck it to anyone with his tremendous output. Since '03, he's only played 100+ games twice. His '06 campaign of .303/20/93 in 122 games with the L.A. Dodgers was the only blip on an otherwise bleak radar. He is no longer offensively relevant and is relegated to 1B/DH duties with the Athletics—a far cry from his days at shortstop in Boston.

So for the remaining Nomar haters, I will leave you with some closing thoughts. While I can respect the fact you don't like Nomar, I don't understand it.

He's served his penance for whatever ills he created during his last years in Boston, including the ultimate insult of not being part of the 2004 World Series winning club—a feat I am sure he wanted to achieve while here. What else do you want from him?

Choose to remember the guy that went to five All-Star games for you, the guy that won two batting titles, the 1997 Rookie of the Year, and the 1998 AL MVP runner-up.

Choose to remember the guy that was putting up Hall-of-Fame worthy numbers through his first eight seasons in Boston with a .323 batting average, 1281 hits, 178 homers, and 690 RBI in 966 career games, the guy that Ted Williams gushed about after talking to him about hitting for the first time.

It's your right to not like Nomar for how he acted, but you can't ignore how he performed while he was here.

Josh Nason is the publisher and main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog, and has been a Bleacher Report contributor since 2008. You can email the author at josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com] or follow him on Twitter.

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