Breaking up is quick to do for Nomar, mates

MINNEAPOLIS -- It happened so fast there wasn't time for long goodbyes. The media were cleared from the locker room at 3:41 p.m. Central time, which is when Nomar Garciaparra went to Terry Francona's office and learned, in a telephone call with general manager Theo Epstein, that he had been dealt to the Chicago Cubs.

Francona addressed the media in the hall outside the locker room. Inside the room, players were saying goodbye to the shortstop. Garciaparra approached Tim Wakefield, a teammate since their first days with the Red Sox in 1996. "I'll miss you," Garciaparra told the knuckleballer. "Thanks for being a friend to me."

Garciaparra hugged Manny Ramirez and told him that he hoped they'd get to play against one another in the World Series. Ramirez then reiterated what he had said in spring training.

"Nomar," said the slugger, "is the best hitter I've ever seen."

The best hitter Ramirez has seen was sent to the Cubs in a four-team deal that brought shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to Boston.

"I think when you first hear it, you're surprised," said Curt Schilling. "I don't think it was unexpected. You're always sorry to see a teammate get traded, but it happens in this business we're in. It happens to all of us."

Pedro Martinez, another longtime teammate, spoke to Garciaparra briefly and asked him, "Are you happy?"

"Nomar and Wake and myself are the last of the old goats to survive here," said Martinez. "I've been hearing the rumors, but I didn't pay much attention to them. I thought Nomar would be here, so I'm surprised it happened. All I can say is I wish him well. He's a great person, a great hitter, a great player.

"For some reason, I frame him as a Bostonian. For years I heard the fans yell, `Nomah! Nomah!' A lot of people are going to be saddened, but as players we're all prepared for this. You never want to see it coming, but he's going to a great place."

Sox player representative Johnny Damon said, "We just traded away Mr. Boston, a guy that meant so much to the city, and just like that, he's gone. It's a sad day for a lot of the fans back [in New England]. We're going to miss him. We're going to miss that great swing."

Certainly, the Red Sox had geared up for life without Garciaparra for a while. The Sox shortstop missed the first 57 games of the season and teammates got a glimpse then of life without him. On June 9, the day Garciaparra was activated, the Sox were 34-23. They were 22-22 with him.

"This is why I never fall in love with one team," said Ramirez, referring to the reality of player movement.

Ramirez figured trade rumors mentioning Garciaparra were unfounded, as had many of his teammates, who made light of the media who were on trade alert.

"It's going to be a feeding frenzy in here," said catcher Doug Mirabelli when he saw the horde of media standing outside Francona's office watching the end of the Cubs-Phillies game, which seemed more important than the 4 p.m. trading deadline since the game went beyond that time.

In the end, the media were right. There would be a major shake-up, with the stress on defense, which has been unsatisfactory for so long.

Garciaparra, whose heel had slowed him in the field, was deemed expendable. With Pokey Reese on the disabled list, there was a need for glove men.

One of the funniest scenes in the moments after the deal was announced involved Derek Lowe. Lowe was last night's starting pitcher and the starter usually arrives at the ballpark much later than the rest of his teammates. Before the deal had been announced, Cub Matt Clement was rumored to be coming to Boston and Lowe was going to walk across the hall and become a Twin.

As Lowe sat in his chair in the clubhouse, Martinez playfully asked the media, "Should Derek change into his uniform, or not?" When assured that Lowe was not a part of the deal, Lowe began getting ready. It appeared the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Martinez went over and slapped Lowe on the back.

The pregame atmosphere seemed very distracting to the players. Some played cards. Others watched the Cubs-Phillies game on television.