Reaction to this trade has been uniformly negative, but honestly, I'm fine with it. Quite frankly, I was very sick of Nomar and I'm happy to see him go. His prima donna attitude, his sulking in the dugout, and his behaviour during the winter over the negotiations (when he reacted to a fair appraisement of his value by trying to make himself seem like a victim) has turned me firmly against him. He was an immense disappointment in the offseason last year- he would have men in scoring position in close games and inevitably popup over the infield for the final out. Nomar was a great player- the best SS in the game, in my opinion- but since he got hit on the wrist he's been nowhere near the player he used to be, and this year after he got hit on his achilles he took his own sweet time coming back.

Furthermore, I'm a fan of Mientkiewicz. He had a great 2003 season- I voted for him for the all-star game last year. He plays hard, is a fan favourite, is a clubhouse leader and is a golden glover. He and Cabrera are a definitely upgrade defensively in the infield. You can't win anything leading the league in unearned runs. When Pokey Reese comes back we'll have an ironclad infield.

Finally, this team wasn't going to win anything anyway with the current lineup. Big hitters but poor defense, little speed, and poor fielding.

My only real problem is- what do I do with my Red Sox #5 jersey? I bought it in the belief that Nomar would retire as a member of the Red Sox (also because they didn't have a Trot #7 available).

As always, time will tell.

[Tip o' the hat to Daryl- I wrote him an email in response to his blog post on the trade, and I based my entry here on that email I wrote. Keep it swinging, pally!]