A fitting tribute

Bill:
You know just when I think my head is going to explode from the nevah ending nevahland of Michael Jackson death-porn …

 

---

Mike:
"He's our Princess Di!"

 

---

Bill:
Seriously. Just when I think I can't take it anymore comes the sweet, soothing tonic of Nomah's return to Fenway.

 

---

Bill:
Now *that* is what I call a propah tribute.

 

---

Mike:
That was all class from the fans to the Red Sox highlight reel to Nomah's grace and nobility.

 

---

Mike:
And you know what? Nomah is 100% correct when he says he was a paht of the 2004 Championship.

 

---

Bill:
Oh absolutely. You cannot, it is simply not possible, to think of Nomah without thinking about what came aftah Nomah.

 

---

Mike:
They are simpatico like a coffee and a donut or sausage and peppahs or a bridesmaid in a teal dress.

 

---

Bill:
You know it's still, nearly 5 years latah, still hahd to believe that when Nomah was traded in '04 the Sox were 7½ off the lead and headed for anothah "Wait until next year."

 

---

Mike:
There but for the grace of Theo go I.

 

---

Comments

[Natalie]

Ha! Still waiting for the other side of the combo: "bridesmaid in a teal dress" and....? Or maybe the sentence is intended as "sausage and peppers or (sausage and) a bridesmaid in a teal dress..." in which case, what kinda girl do you take me for??? (No, don't answer that!)

I remember exactly where I was (in line at the Beacon Hill 7-11) when I heard about the Nomar trade. My first reaction was elation, because something needed to change and he had really pissed me off during the dugout sulk during that epic Yanks/Sox game... then disappointment in the names we got in return (never was I so glad to be proven wrong about someone than O-Cab). I promise that when Theo trades Lugo for some scratch tickets and a fungo bat, I will only feel elation. Hey, you can win a couple grand on those cards, or so I hear!

[Harwich Rich]

In the meantime Nat,can someone tell Smoltzy that it's 3 strikes and you're out in baseball?

[COD]

For those you (like me) that had no opportunity to watch the game live, I found video of Nomar's first at bat last night.

[louclinton]

time wounds all heels I guess. Nomar quit on us, just like Manny. Had I been there last night I would have sat on my hands. Nomar is a phony, pure and simple.

lc

[Colin]

What the hell just happened last night? Did we just decide to give Nomar a charity game or something?

[dhr]

Great strip today

[Bob]

Like Sriracha and scrambled eggs. (Or a sausage with peppers and ONIONS).

Two hits? TWO HITS??

The All-Star break can't come soon enough.

[Paul-DC]

Hopefully some of the appreciation last night was directed toward Orlando Cabrera as well... I believe he also had a part in what happened in 04...

[pablo in nh]

Ah, the nostalgia. Has me wondering-Ou sont les battes d'antan?

[h.b.]

// I believe [OC] also had a part in what happened in 04 //

That and everything else post-Nomar was implied by Bill's line "...THINKING ABOUT WHAT CAME AFTAH NOMAH."

Yes, Bob, *and* onions.

Agree sentiments re Nomar and quitter but I don't think that detracts from the idea that Nomar is inseparable from the 2004 saga, i.e., if Nomar doesn't quit then there is no trade, if there is no trade there is no catalyst for the miracle to fall into place.

[Jake]

Paul -
Not O-Cab's first Fenway return. He got his standing O back in the Angel days of 2005.

[Harwich Rich]

Agree 100% lc

[Kaz]

My take on Nomar is that he did a lot of good here and tarnished it at the end. That doesn't mean that under that tarnish isn't a lot of good and so I give him credit for that other stuff and am willing to let screw-ups be screw-ups.

Manny will likely be the same for me. Yeah, he screwed up at the end, but the rest of it is worth celebrating.

Damon took everything worth celebrating and wiped his ass with it and continues to wipe his ass with whatever corner of it he can find that's still clean by making all sorts of fucked up public statements about "the rivalry" and everything else. He's not worth celebrating.

[h.b.]

It's hard, no it's impossible for me to hold any animosity for Nomar anymore. I'd feel differently if 2004 didn't turn into *the* 2004.

For me, the awesomeness of the 04 World Series run just cleans the slate of everything that came before from Nomar, to Grady leaving Pedro in, to Clemens, to the Gerbil in 78, and so on and so forth through all the crazy crap the CHB so judiciously outlines in his Curse book all the way back to Frazee selling Ruth.

[Jeff in NC]

follow on to Kaz sentiments, I was, like Natalie, happy when Nomar got the heev-ho, but thought last night was a fitting tribute to his legacy in Boston and a nice show of class by the fans.

Manny is fly speck on my hood at this point - a complete non-issue.

But last night when Mrs. Jeff commented that Damon didn't get quite the same ovation upon return, my reply was simple... "that's because Damon is an asshole"

[Jeff in NC]

completely off topic here, but someone on this site should get a kick out of this like me.

I received a letter today offering a piece of property for sale for me to build a spec house on (I get these weekly)... description of prpoerty, picture, price, blah, blah, then at the bottom of the letter is the closing...

"Call me, Dick Wood, the owner,.."

Of course! I'd be happy to!

[Natalie]

Amen, hb, amen. Exactly how I feel about it, too. Could 2004 happened without the Nomar trade? We'll never really know (I doubt it) but I wouldn't touch a hair on the head of that season. I did not see last night's game but that article you linked to made me cry. I would have been standing and cheering myself. Nomar is a huge part of 2004 (success up to July and then via his departure), and I can't not love him for that.

Damon is a twat, but he was a hell of a lot of fun to watch and a true gamer (contributing what he did with a head injury that clearly lingered for a year). I'll tune him out and cheer wildly for him if he ever comes back to Fenway not in pinstripes (I draw the line at ever cheering a Yankee in the Fens during a live season!).

[vasoxfan]

Boston's drive for the Roberto Clemente team award continues.

[LarryE]

I think lc and Rich are being a little hard on Nomar. While it's true he did quit on the team at the end, it was because he had been hurt by the A-Rod chase and not, as in the case of Manny, because he had no respect for the game or the fans. For the first five or six years, he gave his all, was an exciting player to watch and was the first righthanded batter since Dimaggio to win consecutive batting titles. Imagine what he could have done in his prime if he were more selective at the plate!!! I thought the standing O during his first at bat was very appropriate and it made me very emotional.

Having said all that, I thought trading Nomar, even on August 1 2004, was the right decision, as he hadbecome a decidedly negative force in the clibhouse. And we would not have won in '04 had Theo not had the intestinal fortitude to trade him.

[Bob]

I loves, loves, loves me some Doc Halladay, but how much would you give up?

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2009/07/07/the_roy_factor/

[Bob]

Let's try this again:

RoyHalladayOnTheBlock

[da kine]

I never had the huge love for Nomah that everyone else did. Not that I disliked him or anything; I just didn't feel it like everyone else. I think Soxsessions for me went: Jim Rice/Dewey, Mike Greenwell, Mo Vaughn, Pedro, Manny, Papi. I still love Manny, even if he is a cheating asshole.

BTW, did Nomah get a WS ring? I know he got shares of cash.

[louclinton]

How Do You Like Manny Now?

[Bob]

Just Manny being mingy.

[Devine]

"What the hell just happened last night? Did we just decide to give Nomar a charity game or something?"

Did you see the lineup?

[Natalie]

dk- yes, he got a ring. A classy move by Henry, Werner, et al.

[Dr Strangeglove]

It's like a bad break-up with a great love...it's better to remember the good times 'tough the end did truly suck. It was just time for him to go.

[h.b.]

I'm running late this morning... something coming soon....