Boston Red Sox

Anytime a baseball player who had a good career retires, the debate begins on whether or not they belong in the Hall of Fame. Most of the time, the answer is no, and the topic should not even be brought up. The Hall of Fame is for the best of the best, not the most popular.

But in the case of Nomar Garciaparra, I think the answer is yes.

When the question was first asked, my initial reaction was no. But looking at his stats, it is hard for me to leave him out.

In a list of greatest players in the history of one of baseball’s most storied franchise, the names at the top of Boston’s list are Hall of Famers.

Williams. Yastrzemski. Rice. Doerr. Young.

So it is not every day that a player comes along with enough caliber to crack the top part of such a list.

One such player did emerge in the summer of 1997.

The Boston Red Sox not only ended their 86-year drought of not winning a world title last decade, but they also tacked on another one three years later.

Can they add to their trophy case in 2010? You have to think they will be one of the favorites to do so.

Boston is one of the biggest-spending teams in the leagues, and while they do have to battle through the toughest division in baseball, fans can rest assured that the Red Sox will do whatever it takes to field a winner.

Now let's see how they are going to stack up in 2010.

The Red Sox were faced with a difficult choice this winter: Sign LF Jason Bay for four years and BIG bucks or bring in someone new to fill one of the outfield slots until Josh Reddick and/or Ryan Kalish might be ready for a full-time gig in 2011 or 2012.

The front office had clearly made a decision to move towards a team built on pitching and defense, and while Bay had become popular in Boston, his defense (a -11 UZR/150) just didn’t fit with the new course the team had charted. And then there was the issue of his knees...

Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra pulled a Carlton Fisk yesterday, by signing a one-day minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, then announcing his retirement, and taking a job at ESPN to become a baseball analyst.

As you may remember, I called this retirement a few weeks ago , even though I didn't get the exact method of the retirement down-pat.

One of the Red Sox top right handed pitching prospects will be making his 2010 Spring Training debut as a starter for the big league club this Saturday.

Michael Bowden will get the call to face the Pirates at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers.

Bowden has pitched two innings of relief this spring, giving up just a hit and no runs with a pair of strikeouts against the Twins.

Bowden is hoping for a role in Boston’s bullpen when the club heads north. The team already has six starters vying for the five rotation spots.

The rumors are true. And so are the reports from SportsCenter, USA Today, and every single Boston-based sports page known to the net. Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-day minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox and then retired. This likely is somehow associated with the criteria to have your number retired at Fenway, but I call that a long shot.

Joe Mauer has his MVP award, looming $100-million contract extension, and the cover of MLB The Show 2010.

Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek form a formidable backstop platoon for the 2010 Red Sox.

They all started somewhere.

These are the outsiders looking in who get to catch guys like John Lackey and Josh Beckett for a month before being tendered a contract and hoping for more or getting the cold shoulder and packing their bags.

Begin Slideshow

The Red Sox organization made a calculated decision during this past offseason to trade offense in exchange for pitching and defense. The club had the third-highest total of runs scored in 2009, but failed to measure up in the field.

While watching those Spring Training games minutely on a work computer or catching them here and there on the MLB Network, some Red Sox fans may wish the commentary focused more on who these non-roster players are.

Who's that guy pinch running for Jacoby Ellsbury?

He can't possibly get the starting job, so why is he there?

As with my previous article on non-roster invitee infielders, now I offer you a little run down on those young outfielders interloping at Red Sox camp.

Begin