He was a great player while he was in Boston and on the fast track to the hall of fame, but got cut down by injuries and was never quite the same after leaving the Red Sox in 2004.

He was one of my all time favorite players and there’s been a gaping hole at shortstop in Boston ever since his departure. In the 6 years since then they’ve been through: Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Rentaria, Pokey Reese, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Nick Green, Jed Lowrie and (currently) Marco Scutaro.

Since Scutaro is on a 2 year contract, we probably have at least 3 more years of watching the middle infield search for that mid-season chemistry.

Hall of Fame?

Is Nomar a Hall of Famer? My gut reaction is no because of all the injuries, but let’s look at the stats anyway…

Let’s compare that to a couple Hall of Fame Shortstops:

Phil Rizzuto

Robin Yount

Nomar Garciaparra was the unanimous 1997 American League Rookie of the Year, finished second in MVP voting in 1998, and won batting titles in 1999 and 2000. The finest all-around shortstop in the American League in the mid-1990s and early 2000s

The Baseball Page

Nomar also ranks in the top 20 all time for shortstops according to The Baseball Page.

I’m not saying whether he should be in the Hall of Fame 5 years from now or not, but looking at the stats, comparing them to the other SS who have been inducted, coupling that with 2 batting titles, a ROY and 6 all star selections, it’s easy to make the case for him as he was a dominant force in the middle infield while he was in his prime.

As long as the “steroid era” stigma passes over Nomar’s stats, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Cooperstown some day.

This off season, the Red Sox made a lot pretty big moves including: Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, and John Lackey.

So, I want to take a look at some of the bigger moves they made.

Mike Cameron & Jacoby Ellsbury

Mike Cameron is a 37 year old center fielder who has a history of solid defense. He must be pretty great since they decided to move Jacoby to left in order to make room in the outfield.

There’s been a lot of talk about how great an outfielder he is but little talk of the actual numbers. It’s true, he’s a very good center fielder, only making 4 errors in 147 games last year and averaging about 5 per year. Very good stats. But Jacoby’s no shlub making only 2 errors in 153 games last year.

I’m not sure where the Jacoby-hating is coming from, but the guy’s a really good center fielder, and he’s only 26, they don’t need to “save his legs”, the guy stole 70 bases last year. How ’bout saving the legs of the 37 year old? Maybe he could focus on raising that .250 AVG / .340 OBP.

I’d like to see Jacoby patrolling center field at some point in 2010, chances are he’ll be moving back there in a couple years anyway unless Ryan Westmoreland rockets up through the minors and takes over CF. Remember, they still have Josh Reddick who can play both right and left field and looks like a really good prospect. With a little more development I can easily see him starting in 2012 after Cameron’s contract is up.

Final word on this: OK with the Cameron pick up, against moving Ellsbury

Adrian Beltre / Mike Lowell

I don’t like this move at all. I get what they were planning to do: trade Lowell to Texas for Max Ramirez and sign Beltre to fill the hole at third or move Youkils to third and sign Adrian Gonzalez. Disagreement with that move aside, when it doesn’t work out, why would you still go get Beltre? You have a good 3B in Mike Lowell.

Some are syaing that Lowell’s range is worse now because of his hip but how much range do you need at third anyway? It’s more about reaction time. If they hung onto Lowell as the starting third basement for a few month in the season they could have tried to pick up someone like Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez (if Lowell / Ortiz were struggling), move Youklis to third and platoon Lowell / Ortiz at DH. I dunno, I think Mike Lowell has earn the benefit of the doubt. They weren’t hard up for a 3B and now they just created an awkward situation.

Final word on this: Could not be more against it. Mike Lowell has been an all around solid ball player in Boston he never causes any trouble and it’s a shame to see the front office push him out like this. I’ve never liked Beltre, and no one ever seems to bring up that year before he signed his huge contract and hit 48HRs, an obvious steroid season (yea, I said it).

Marco Scutaro / Jed Lowrie

I get this move. I’d rather see Jed out there, but he gets hurt too much and just doesn’t look like he’s working out. It’s a shame, because he has a lot of potential. I hope he gets healthy, strong and another shot to start, even if it’s not in Boston.

On to Marco. Solid SS, about 10 errors last year in 145 games (played 2 games at 2B). He had a good offensive year, but it’s more the exception than the rule. He hasn’t been a strong hitter in the past with a .262 AVG and around 7HRs a year. This is another 2 year deal, so even if it doesn’t work out it’ll give the guys in the minors (Jose Iglesias) some time to develop and hopefully close that revolving door that is SS in Boston come 2012.

Final word on this: I’m OK with this one, it’s a pretty small contract and we’ll hopefully get a full season out of a SS this year. But this is obviously a temporary fix; there are a few SS coming up through the system that look promising.

John Lackey

This was awful. Now they have a 6 man rotation and someone is going to get left out. It looks like they’re hoping to have 1 pitcher injured at all times so this problem “takes care of itself”. Why do I hate this move?

Young starting pitchers in the Red Sox system:

• Clay Buchhloz
• Michael Bowden
• Junichi Tazawa
• Casey Kelly
• Charlie Zink
• Stomly Pimentel

Maybe all those guys won’t make it up, but 3 have already pitched in Boston and have torn through AAA. Are we just going to trade them all away? I don’t know. I like the homegrown talent in Boston and I hope we stick with it and don’t just buy players to keep them away from the Yankees.

Final thoughts on this: It looks more and more like they signed Lackey so they don’t have to re-sign Beckett next year or in anticipation for a Tim Wakefield retirement (not sure why they signed him to a 2 year deal if that was the case). I’m not a big Lackey fan, he does eat innings (and pie) but what good is an innings-eater when he’s not winning games, and you have a killer bullpen?

Overall reaction

Overall I’m not completely thrilled with the moves that the Red Sox made this off season, I understand them, but don’t totally agree. I like Cameron and Scutaro and I strongly dislike Lackey and Beltre (not as people, I just don’t think they add much more than a higher payroll to the team). I like the Hermida pick up as well. I’d actually be fine with him and Reddick platooning in LF all year if the Sox never picked up Cameron.

I would have much rather see the 5 man rotation we had last year with Bowden / Tazawa filling where applicable and developing more as starters so if Beckett leaves, one of them could slide in as a #5 starter, then the other when Wakefield’s contract is up in 2012.

One last thing since this is getting long and I want to see what everyone else thinks. Why would anyone want Kevin Youkilis at any other position than first base? He’s a gold glove caliber player, leave him alone. He’s a great ballplayer and I look forward to many years of him in a Boston uniform.

Posted on OkayTim.