Not a Happy Camper
"How Would You Feel?"
Nomar News Conference: The
seat still fits. Can you believe after these three months, I'm still
here in Fort Myers? That's pretty good. I'm glad. I was like, man, I
wonder if the seats are still warm. They're still warm, which is
nice.
I'll tell you what, from my standpoint
right now, all of this stuff is in the past, at least it's going to
be put past me for the next eight months. I'm excited about our
team.
I agreed a couple of years ago not to
talk about details of the contracts, and I'm still going to uphold
that promise on my part. Talks have been going on. There have been
some discussions back and forth. Where are they at right now? Where
we're at right now is I'm here at Spring Training working out and
getting ready to go. I'm going
to fulfill that contract (I signed). We assumed we were going to
resume the talks at the end of the season. But they were focused on
something else. Who knows how its going to go from hereon out. I
didn't know what camp I was going to come into this year. Right now
all I can look into is one day at a time.
I talked to Kevin, he's probably going to take me out
to dinner tonight. All you guys are invited. We put that behind us, and now everything is
really good. ...I was probably surprised when I heard about it
(A-Rod to NY). I'm not about enhancing my position, that's not what
I'm focused on.
On his
future in Boston: It's just day to
day, 'cause that's all I can go by right now. That remains to be seen
and everything and I'm not really worried about that (next contract),
and I'll let have someone else kind of focus on that and take care of
that for me, cause that's really what I pay them good money to them as
well and my job is really to go out there and play the game, that's
really what I'm really focused on looking at that when that time comes
and it's something that I can really look at, and take serious, then
I'll address that issue when it comes.
No not at all (affecting his baseball),
depends on how many times you guys bring it up (heh, heh) before
affecting it, but that's why right now, I'll address it today and as
far as I'm concerned I'm moving on and it's going, you know, I'm
going to move forward and I'm trying to win a World Series, I've
always, every year, trying to win a World Series, and we were so
close last year, we had a phenomenal team last year, and we have I
think even better team again this year and that's what I'm really
looking forward to, going out there playing next to those guys and
now being here, spring training, you know, building that rapport
with those guys and the chemistry we had last year is still going to
be there with the old guys, nothing's changed there and going out
there and gelling as a team, performing as a team, and getting ready
like we did last year.
He's big (Schilling), I think it's
great. You guys are going to love him, I sure you guys already have
and talked to him and everything. He's just such a competitor. You
got a guy who reaches his hand out every day, and he wants that ball
in his hand in any type of situation and you have to pry that ball
out of his hand, and you have Keith Foulke whose numbers speak for
themselves... to have these guys on this team.
People are going to criticize superstars
left and right even when they do everything right or whenever and
when they do anything wrong there's gonna be stuff coming along. I'm
not going to change who I am or what I'm about that's for sure, I
think I've done alright up until this point (heh, heh) why am I
gonna change that you know? And I'm not going to change the type of
person I'm about, I think you guys know what I'm about, go out
there, respect the game.
A couple of times there, I didn't know
if I was supposed to be renting a place in Tucson or down in Vero
Beach down the way or wherever. I'm just glad I still have my
connections here in Fort Myers to get a place to rent here.
I was probably surprised about it (A-Rod
to NY) just like everyone else was when they heard about it. I think
it took everyone by surprise. Was I stunned? Well, of course, I
guess when it came out and how I found out and when it was all done
was kind of interesting in and of itself. When I found out or when
it actually came out to me was when all the talks were going with
Alex. That's when the offer came to me. When you heard about it, I
was thinking, well, the priorities are obviously not for me. They're
obviously for someone else, that was pretty evident throughout this
whole winter.
I was definitely hurt by a lot of it, I
probably felt like anyone else would feel after spending their whole
career in one organization and doing what you do and having to find
out you've been traded, or you're pretty much gone, over the
television. As far as I
was concerned it was a Done Deal. I was shipped off and off to another
new
team.
I've always said my hope is to play here
in Boston. That hasn't changed. I've always said that. As of right
now, like I said, I'm excited that my socks are still red.
Like I said, people keep assuming I
didn't accept their offer or I didn't do that or whatever. People
don't know all the details of contracts. When that was done, at the
time of last year, here you are, two years left in the contract ...
they made an offer.
Did I turn it down? No. I actually
didn't turn it down. I actually made a counter offer as well and
said there's definitely some flexibility in there. I didn't hear
from them then, so they apparently weren't flexible at all. Talks
were wonderful, everything was good. I'm sure both sides agreed that
we'd resume at the end of last year. That's how it went. Obviously
priorities were somewhere else and they were focused on something
else (the A-Rod trade) before resuming it and that's where I'm at
now.
Wearing that uniform on a daily basis is
a thrill and an honor. I respect that and it's still going to be a
thrill and an honor for me every time I do put it on. When you go
out there day in and day out, and put on a Red Sox uniform, I
represent myself, my teammates, and all of those other great ones
who have worn it before. It's just like looking up at that green
wall. You see those dents on the wall, you think of all the great
ones who have a dent on that wall, and then you're a part of it. I
know I have a couple of dents on it.
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