Why I Miss Nomar

Class and grace:

PITTSBURGH -- An All-Star again and a worried man no more, Nomar Garciaparra boarded a private jet Sunday night in Los Angeles with his wife, father and a Dodgers teammate, freed from controversy, injury and a losing team (although he still thinks Cubs fans are "just phenomenal").

Boston got rid of him. Chicago let him go. Now his batting average is .358, as good as anybody's in the National League. He is playing a first-rate first base. And he is so happy to be playing it for his favorite boyhood team that he feels like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Could he have stayed with the Cubs, done all of this for them?

"Well, we chatted a little bit," Garciaparra says, going out of his way to offend no one, so upbeat is he about how this whole experience has worked out.

"They were as classy as could be. They told me it was time for the Cubs to go in a different direction, and I could understand that. I'll always wish them luck. My first day there, that ovation I received was so awesome. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life."

So parting was hard?

"I think maybe I let myself sulk for one day," he says.

[...]

"I have been blessed with the places I've played, the uniforms I've been able to wear," Garciaparra says. "I have played in front of phenomenal fans. Chicago's fans, that's what they were, just phenomenal. Somebody up there is looking out for me."

I'm very happy for him. It wouldn't be good for him to be with the Cubs during this miserable season. He deserves so much more.

Why I Miss Nomar