Garcialiar!
Angry John Henry Reveals Nomar Lied About Calls, Contract, Correnti Conversation
"Henry said he was in accordance with the club's assertion, after Garciaparra met with team trainers and manager Terry Francona last Wednesday in Baltimore, that the shortstop had indicated he could miss a significant amount of playing time this month because of his injury. That left the club little choice, Henry said, but to make a deal for another shortstop.
"Let's put it this way," Henry said. "I was in my office in Fenway Park when Theo called and said, 'You'd better come down here; I want you to hear something.' I went down to his office and he put the manager on the phone. I heard what I also read [later] in the newspapers, directly from the manager. He has a duty to report such things.
"Do I believe it? Absolutely. After that conversation, Theo, Larry, and I met, and Theo said that everything had been fully disclosed to Chicago and that he didn't know if they still had interest [in Garciaparra], but that we needed somebody to play shortstop."
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"According to Henry, six days before last Saturday's trade, Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, told Epstein he had to talk the shortstop out of demanding a trade.
"We knew from that that he didn't want to be here," said Henry."
-- 8.4.04: Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
"Henry was flabbergasted by Garciaparra's recent assertions that the owner hadn't made efforts to speak with him.
"Three times I expressed an interest in meeting with him," Henry said. "The first was the day he came back to play (June 9). I called and said, 'Look, Nomar, two things: Don't come back too early from this injury,' and he said, 'I'm coming back today.' The other was, 'I want to meet with you one-on-one.' He said, 'I'm coming back right now and I've got too much on my mind right now.'
"On July 20 or so, I said, 'Let's meet with Nomar; it doesn't seem like he's happy.' I wanted to sit down and remind him of the chronology of events that occurred, just to make sure, for instance, why we went the A-Rod route. But we ended up meeting with Nomar and Arn and Theo and Larry and I, and other things were discussed."
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"Henry acknowledged that he didn't speak to Garciaparra after the trade, but said the decision was made after a terse conversation between Lucchino and the player.
"Larry called and gave me the number and told me of the conversation he'd had," Henry said. "Larry had a certain interpretation of it and hearing it made me angry, so I didn't call."
-- 8.4.04: Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
Giggling Garciaparra was "Thrown to the Wolves" in Boston
(You really need to hear the audio to do his lies... err lines justice)
Nervous Nomar has trouble reading PR notes to Chicago media: "It was just shocking," he said of comments from the Red Sox front office that called his honesty into question. "I just said [to the Globe], 'Here's the truth.' Why or where it's coming from, I don't know. What they are saying afterward kind of cracks me up."
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"While a clip of Garciaparra sitting by himself on the bench during a game he sat out against the Yankees was being shown, he was described as "aloof" and separating himself from his teammates.
"My teammates told me 'Go sit down in your superstitious spot so we can go score some runs--go back to your spot,'" Garciaparra said. "My teammates are like, 'He's in his spot where he's been for the last eight years.'
"I've heard I was unhappy there, that I wanted out. I was like, man, that's unfortunate. I wanted out? My wife and I bought a new home there in the off-season and spent a pretty penny on that. It's being built right now. Does it surprise me, all this stuff? I don't know."
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"Even in the best of times Nomar could be difficult. You can ask the folks in the Cape Cod Baseball League who jumped through hoops a few years ago trying to present him with a plaque that honored his induction into their Hall-of-Fame. Nomar couldn't be bothered, maintaining that it would disrupt his routine.
During that time I approached him for a comment on the selection. He muttered that he knew nothing about it. Later, I learned that a letter had been hand-delivered to him a few days earlier. If you're looking for an example of dishonesty, that was one."
