The Nation has mixed reactions

No more Nomar. That was the cry -- uttered with a few missing Rs and a tinge of sadness -- as news the Red Sox had dealt Garciaparra, the star shortstop, to the Chicago Cubs coursed through the bars and streets of Boston yesterday.

"It's a shock. I thought he would be here forever," said John Quinn, 52, a construction worker from Dorchester's Savin Hill who was with a friend at Stadium, a sports bar in South Boston. "I'm a Nomar fan."

"To trade a guy that took you so far is a mistake," said Gean Buverge, a Boston cab driver who was looking for a fare near Fenway Park. "He's been flat since there was talk of trading him last year. That kind of rumor has to have a bad effect on a guy."

Nomar had joined the pantheon of Red Sox stars known by one name. Ted. Yaz. Nomar. With his contract status in limbo and with an Achilles' tendon injury that has caused him to miss 57 games, Garciaparra's stock has plummeted among Sox fans.

Rosemary Taylor, 23, a server at Stadium, was huddled in a circle with fellow waitstaff, debating the merits of the trade. Taylor said the trade is a great thing.

"He wasn't doing very good this season, and he was going to leave anyway, so they might as well get something for him," she said. "He wanted to leave."

Other fans sounded a conciliatory note.

"I think until this year everybody loved him. I think a majority of Sox fans still love him," said Frank Keller, 37, of Cambridge, who offered his opinion from the Sports Grill Boston. "[General manager] Theo Epstein did his best to get some kind of value for him. He's got a budget crunch. He's doing the best he can."

"It's too bad to lose Nomar. He represents leadership for this team and getting the job done no matter what," said Phil Parker, 29, who was strolling near the park. "This year it's been tough for him, so some people will probably think it's sad for him to go."

Several fans said if Garciaparra had to go, they were happy to be gaining first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from Minnesota and shortstop Orlando Cabrera from Montreal. "I just feel bad that he got traded, but if we were going to lose out and get anything -- you've got to trade him and at least get something," said Jim McCarthy, 41, of Weymouth. "He was one of the top four shortstops in the league, right behind A-Rod."

Pierre Charles, 27, a garage worker from Boston, said the team should not fear for its Nomarless future, given the presence of Cabrera and Pokey Reese. "We'll be just fine. Pokey will step in and fill Nomar's shoes, and with time even get better," Charles said.

Antonio Soares, 35, of Brighton, who works with Cape Verdean youth and is director of the Dearborn After-School Academy, praised the shortstop's charitable work. He said Garciaparra donated video game systems and met with kids from his program around Christmas. "I've met the gentleman, and he is a gentleman," said Soares. "He's a community leader and a guy like that leaving is kind of hard. I wish him well."

Soares said he would miss Garciaparra's wife, soccer star Mia Hamm, too. "The perfect community couple is leaving, and that's the sad side about it . . . He was more than a baseball player . . ."

Globe correspondents Martha Bartle and Jack Encarnacao contributed to this report.