Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Dusty Baker A Nomar Fan: "Nomar Garciaparra is not expected to be back with the Cubs after an injury-filled season. He hit .283 but played 62 games because of a groin injury suffered in April.
'Other than the first month last year when Nomar was struggling -- he can hit,' Baker said of the two-time batting champion. 'It's just a matter of how many games is Nomar going to play and if he can stay healthy. That's been the issue for a couple years now. When he's healthy, Nomar is a heck of a player. Sometimes you go through those periods and streaks in your career. You might not get hurt again for the next five, six years.
'The good thing about Nomar is that whatever you heard about him as a teammate and all this, he was totally opposite,' Baker said. 'He was one of the best guys in our clubhouse. He was quiet, he didn't say a whole bunch, but he certainly wasn't any distraction and very positive. I liked having Nomar on our team"
'Other than the first month last year when Nomar was struggling -- he can hit,' Baker said of the two-time batting champion. 'It's just a matter of how many games is Nomar going to play and if he can stay healthy. That's been the issue for a couple years now. When he's healthy, Nomar is a heck of a player. Sometimes you go through those periods and streaks in your career. You might not get hurt again for the next five, six years.
'The good thing about Nomar is that whatever you heard about him as a teammate and all this, he was totally opposite,' Baker said. 'He was one of the best guys in our clubhouse. He was quiet, he didn't say a whole bunch, but he certainly wasn't any distraction and very positive. I liked having Nomar on our team"
