Tuesday, December 20, 2005
"When I suggested to Garciaparra it appears he's on the downward side of his career, he disagreed, saying he wouldn't have been in demand if that was true."No one wanted you to play shortstop," I said, "which would indicate you've lost something," and once again he disagreed, saying several teams wanted him to play shortstop."Name them," I said, and he declined.Garciaparra then told the media that when he walked through the Dodger clubhouse looking at the names above each locker, he concluded this team can win the World Series. I guess they've already taken down Jason Phillips' name plate.
I asked him to repeat that just to make sure he's not some kind of practical joker, and he did — like he really believed it — so I asked him what would he know about winning a World Series?He said he won a World Series, the one the Red Sox won three months after they traded him to the Cubs — although the record shows Boston went 56-46 with Garciaparra, and 42-18 to finish the regular season after trading him.In fact when the Red Sox traded Garciaparra, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote, "Thank the baseball god, he's gone. We no longer have to watch Garciaparra pretend he cares about the fortunes of the Red Sox. … He had to go. He was more miserable than any athlete I have ever seen."Jeff Kent and Garciaparra on the same team — yeah, this is going to be fun...
(I have a feeling Kent is going to catch a break this season, as I'll probably be spending most of my time trying to cut through Garciaparra's baloney.)"
-Red Sox West Hub
