Well, the Sox have done it. They've traded Nomar.

As you may have seen by now, the Sox were part of a four team deal that (in part) sent Nomar to the Cubs. At one point this was part of the plan of bringing the Big Unit to Beantown (he's now staying in Arizona, which is fine by me). Instead, we've now gained Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins (I don't expect he'll be in the Sox lineup tonight).

I suppose I should be happy that the Sox got something of value for Nomar, rather than letting him go via free agency. But there's a mental block about getting rid of Nomar, an iconic player and the first of the first-name only Sox (though I figure Dougie may join Pedro and Manny in that group, if only so people don't have to attempt his last name).

But I do worry about this actually solving the Sox problems. Nomar's been hitting the ball well for a team that's not had a lot of punch. Cabrera's not going to help there. And it does nothing to address the pitching situation, meaning that the Sox may still be aiming for an October run on the arms of Derek Lowe and Bronson Arroyo (not to mention some of the more frightening bullpen denizens). Yikes.

Then there's the Carleton Fisk thing, where the team loses/gets rid of a well-liked player and enters a down period. The Sox are more willing to spend to get talent now, but I still fear that the Sox won't return to the playoffs until 2011 or so. One bitten, twice shy I suppose.

I'll miss the calls of "Nomahhhhhhhhh!" at Fenway.