The Sox have shipped Nomar to the Cubs in a four-team deal and ended up with shortshop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Are the Sox better off?

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For once, the Sox front office got something in return for one of their superstars before he left on his own. What they got was an upgrade in defense, an upgrade in team happiness, and a slight downgrade in offense. Not bad, not great, but not bad. Nomar, we'll miss you and I'll be happy to one day tell my kids that I watched the great Nomar Garciaparra play at Fenway Park in his prime.

Aaron, Boston

I feel such a sense of loss and sadness, yet I know that the Red Sox did their best (at this time) for both them and him. Given his bitterness, he needed a change of scenery badly.... What makes this so hard to take is that I remember the early days ... when he was literally a breath of fresh air and reporters and columnists were tripping over themselves to pour accolades on him. Is it me or can anyone else remember the interviews where the first words out of his mouth were "No questions about stats, please." In those days, his passion to win and love for the game and the area is what made all of us fall in love with him (and that phrase is not too melodramatic). And that all seemed to erode over time. Maybe management, the media, and the fans were too hard on him at times, but he allowed himself to lose his hopeful and optimistic spirit and Boston Baseball soul ... and, in reality, despite his departure, that's really the tragedy of it all. Next up: Get Varitek signed ASAP. That guy hasn't changed from day one.

Gulick, Northern MA

This is a horrible deal. Not only is Nomar the heart and spirit of the team, he is a better player than the others combined. Nomar has at least 8 years ahead of him for a solid career. The red sox need his bat, his home runs, his rbi's and his spirit. This really sucks.

Jonathan, Sudbruy, MA

Come to think of Nomar, it is time to move on to a new direction. Granted, he is the icon of Boston sports. We could name another bridge/tunnel/rotary/square in honor of his name. He has drifted aparted from us thanks to the "awesome" Redsox ownership. What we got in return are two players merely can cover the needs of this team. Again, Theo has to make this call because Mr. Henry's lack of appreciation of Nomar. He was a big piece of this team, but Mr. Henry is going to screw us like what he did down in Miami couple years back. Too bad because Mr. Henry focuses more on cost cutting than winning.

Jim, Virginia Beach

My two-year old son Chris knows that number 5 is Nomar. My four-year old son Nick can spell "Garciaparra". When we made our pilgrimage back to Fenway a couple years back (2-0 Sox over the Twins, Pedro got the win) we sat just beyond Pesky Pole and I pointed to the numbers above the right-field grandstand and said, "Someday Nick, #5 will be up there for Nomar" I can explain that the club is stronger defensively or that Nomar would've walked at the end of the year. It's going to take some time for the kids, and their Dad, to fully comprehend that the endless batter's box twitches and the teeth-tugging of glove strings has moved to Chicago. Good luck Nomar, we hardly knew ye.

Mike, Parker, CO

This is a terrible move! They essentially traded one guy who can really hit for two guys who cannot. If they could have aquired a top flight starter like Clement, I could have looked past the fact that they traded the leader of the Sox Nation (that extends to Hawaii) and the heart and sole of the team for th last eight years. After the A-Rod debacle, the team should have done everyting in its power to make amends. So much for loyalty in sports. We all better to get ready to hear about the "Curse of Nomah" when the Cubs win it all this year.

Dave, Honolulu HI

.323 Lifetime Hitter..2-time batting champ..all around good guy..respected by opponents, teammates and fans alike..what did we get in return? Two average players who's combined stats don't match Nomar's!!! But, that's baseball today and the evils of free agency...

kevin, high point, nc

How could they trade No-mah??? Thanks Larry and sidekick Theo. I'm so upset I've even thought of switching sides to the Yankees. Nomar was a model citizen in Boston and the Red Sox ownership blew it big time with him this winter. Now we trade away a guy who can hit for two guys that can't. I'm ashmaed to be part of Red Sox Nation today!!!

Charlotte, Rochester, NY

being from upstate ny it is not the easiest thing in the world being a red sox fan. i have been going to fenway for 25 years now and most recently witnessed the arod-tek brawl. Ever since spring training i have been thinking that this was going to be the year, still could be....but making a dumb ass trade like this certainely won't help. Bad enough you trade nomar, but don't get any pitching. come on........ sounds like a trade that duquette would have made.

jason macfarlane, philmont, new york

what a one sided trade!

Bob, Worcester