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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Bottomline: The Redsox won zero pennants with Nomar. He rejected a fair contract. Face it, he was leaving at the end of the season. Yes, he was a great Boston player...when he felt like playing. When the Sox played the Yankees, he sat on the bench to nurse a sore hamstring while Jeter played despite his injuries. So we get a Gold Glove shortstop to replace a shortstop who's feeling were hurt. I hate to see Nomar leave. But we didn't see any pennants with him.

Wayne, US Air Force, Germany

This trade is sad. Garciaparra is a regular 300 plus hitter, and still a good fielding shortstop. Moreover, he hits for power, has a huge following in Boston, and wanted to be re-signed so as to finish his career there. The team would have been better off to have kept him, for they essentially got nothing in return anyway. They already have a weak hitting ss in Reese, and need only call Daubach back for 1st base strength. What's next? Trading away Trot, I suppose. 'May as well ask Duquette to come back, because the current upper management is as bad as the last was. Who cares what happens any more? This was like trading Teddy or Yaz.

geof , sequim,wa.

When I saw it on MLB.com at work today I almost broke the computer monitor. You could have hit me and I wouldn't have noticed. I was absolutely stunned. This is by far one of the biggest mistakes the Sox have made in their history. The Curse of the Bambino? No, the Curse of Nomar.

Scott, Detroit

This is an absolutely discusting deal. A classic example of the front office whealing and dealing according to charts and graphs created by men with 50 pound brains. Rather than trading according to productivity, talent, and passion, they traded for a potential increase in fielding percentage. Better defensively? Maybe. But the void they may have filled is far surpased by the cavern they carved into the hearts of red sox nation. For the owners and front office: you are new and do not have the right to do this to us. While you might own the park and team, the Red Sox are ours.

mike, wellesley

THIS IS THE DAY I'VE BEEN DREADING ALL YEAR! EVER SINCE IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT NOMAR WASN'T GOING TO SIGN WITH THE REDSOX.HOW DO WE KEEP LETTING THESE THINGS HAPPEN.I'VE BEEN A CUB FAN FOR OVER 40 YEARS,BUT EVEN BEFORE I MOVED TO BOSTON OVER FIFTEEN YEARS AGO I WAS A SOX FAN.BEING A SOX FAN AND LIVING IN BOSTON MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH BASEBALL ALL OVER AGAIN.THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES THIS TRADE ACCEPTABLE IS THAT NOMAR IS GOING TO MY OTHER TEAM,BUT IT WON'T BE RIGHT SEEING NOMAR IN ANY OTHER UNI BUT THESOX. I'LL BE AT WRIGLEY NEXT WEEK.....I'LL BE WEARING A CUBS JERSEY AND A REDSOX HAT. GO BOSOX;GO CUBS!

LARRY, EVANSTON,IL

I've heard a lot of noise about Nomar the malcontent, $60 mil, etc. What that leaves out is the massive stupidity of the organization: they screwed up, they publicly discounted, humiliated, and alienated him, and then let their deal with A-Rod evaporate over what is, for this organization, chump change. After that fiasco, instead of really working to make it better, they just assumed he'd leave and went from there. Well, that's shortsighted. When the best player to don your uniform in decades is in danger of leaving, you *make him want to stay.* (And that doesn't just mean money.) The set of "diva" accusations ignores the fact that Nomar showed up and played hard whenever he was physically able; if he didn't want to cuddle with the "cowboy up" crowd, that doesn't make him a bad guy or less committed to winning. If anything, it shows maybe he's an adult. Good luck in Chicago, Nomar. Here's hoping that organization knows what a dedicated, accomplished professional it has.

Pinto, Brookline

When I first heard about this trade I was as shaken up as everyone else. But, let's stop and think about it for a second. The Sox get two gold-glove winners for their infield. Let's face it... Nomar's D has been slipping the past two years. He's spent more time on the DL or the bench this year than he has on the field. And, the most important part, he wasn't going to re-sign at the end of the year. So, why not pull the trigger on this and instantly turn your bad news bears infield into the best in baseball (when Reese is back out there)? This makes the pitching (especially Lowe) better by default. And, let's face it guys, the Sox have been treading water the past 3 months. They weren't really moving in a positive direction. Nomar was unhappy (he asked not to play in the last game against the Yankees). Plus, with the money they save with this move they may be able to sign a front-line starter in the off-season, or at least retain their key free agents. Cabrerra may have been having a crappy year at the plate, but you'd be surprised what a change in scenery can do for a guy, especially when you go from playing in front of 7,000 people to 35,000. Last year he finished second among NL shortstops in batting average (.297), slugging (.460) and RBIs (80), and he also had 17 homers. Those aren't bad numbers at all, plus he's a doubles machine which means he and Fenway will get along just fine. So, let's not all freak out about this. Will I miss Nomar? Hell yeah I'll miss him, as we all will. But, the Sox needed something to happen to shore up their defense, which they did. And, in a roundabout way, they also improved their pitching. It's a good deal.

Kavan, Bourne

The fact that this is happening because ownership handled the A-job situation very unprofessionally and allowed it to turn into a complete circus makes me sick. So we end up here ... trading one of the best players in the league for guys they could have gotten anyway, Its absurd. Now first base is even more crowded and the pitching debacle hasnt been addressed. Not to mention now they sent not 1 but 2 clutch players to the Cubs (T. Walker), and lost a solid young player. When you have good fielders playing horrendous defense, its ALWAYS a management problem. Somehow Terry still thinks he is piloting the good ship lollypop. Now more of the guys will jump ship after the season and I cant say I blame them. If they dont win Theo better have his bags packed. Good Luck to the new guys on the team, and thanks Nomar, you always gave us your best.

Andrew, Los Angeles

I am truly sick to my stomach. When someone asks myself or anyone else in Red Sox nation, the one thing that sticks out about the Sox. NOMAH. The Cubs faithful will not call him NOMAH. That was a Boston tradition, he was the heart of that city and the man's jersey I wore on my back alot. Theo is young, he has a lot to learn. Adding another first baseman is real smart, Theo, who is the lucky guy out? We will not win a world series now, give the ring to the Cubbies :) Best of luck nomey!

Matt , Scottsdale, AZ VIA Sudbury, MA

The Red Sox are trying to model themselves after the Pats; the problem is they are not the Pats. No front office (think what they all did in San Diego and Florida), Francona is no Belichick, and "team" rarely described the rest of the organization. Good Luck Cubbies.....Hope Springs Eternal in Chicago!

Ee , Los Altos, CA