I believe Nomar had the whole "not all that excited about playing" problem before he came to the Cubs. He wasn't too happy in 2004 with Boston and that's the main reason they traded him. And I'm sure Nomar was really trying to completely tear his groin also. That was all part of his master plan to get away from Dusty. It was one of the most freakish serious injuries I've ever seen. At least consider the possibility that lack of preparation before the game contributed to that one. At least *consider* it. Wouldn't that be his own fault though not Baker's? Isn't it a player's job to get himself ready to play for the game. Taking batting/fielding practice is one thing, but shouldn't an adult, and somebody who has been in the league for a number of years know how to get himself ready to play. I don't think any of what happened to Nomar is Baker's fault. Yeah, it would be his own fault. I'd like a climate of winning on the North Side though, and we have a climate of losing-----for 97 years. I look to ownership/GM/Manager to provide a climate of winning first, then the players follow suit. Does anyone seriously doubt that if Nomar resigned he would have either proceeded directly to the DL or gone into a Pierre-esque slump? Of course he would have. I don't know about the slump, but based on Nomar's history I would have been surprised if he DIDN'T get hurt this year had he resigned with the Cubs. And considering he started the season on the DL with the Dodgers, that would be a pretty good assumption.