01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 4, 2005

Rewind. Skip back two years, to December 2003.

Red Sox Nation is ecstatic about the acquisition of Curt Schilling, exhilirated about the possibility of trading for Alex Rodriguez, but angst-ridden about the prospect of losing Nomar Garciaparra. Garciaparra was regarded -- at least locally -- as the crown jewel in the Holy Trinity of shortstops (Nomar, A-Rod and Derek Jeter) and the thought of him in some other uniform was sacrilege. Even then, the only reason most of the fan base was embracing the idea of trading for A-Rod was the belief that Garciaparra would walk when he became a free agent at the end of the 2004 season. And most likely walk into one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history.

Fast forward to the present.

Nomar Garciaparra is a free agent. The San Diego Padres are said to be mildly

interested, if Garciaparra is willing to play second base. Likewise the Pittsburgh Pirates, but only if he agrees to play third. The Arizona Diamondbacks have thought of Nomar as an outfielder.

Second base? Third base? The outfield? And it's not like San Diego, Pittsburgh or Arizona are destinations on baseball's fast lane.

The fall of Nomar Garciaparra, unfolding before our eyes over the last two years, has been one of the strangest -- and saddest -- stories in baseball. Injuries and time have eroded his skills, and suddenly a player who could have become one of the richest in history had he hit free agency in the early 2000s is in the market at the relatively young age of 32 1/2, hat in hand, seeking work. Any work.

"I'm willing to play wherever teams ask me to play," Garciaparra told the New York Times last week. "I played third last year [with the Cubs]. You do what you can do when you're on a team."

Jody Reed turning down a three-year, $7.8-million contract offer from the Dodgers after the 1993 season is regarded in baseball circles as the ultimate blunder in player negotiations. Reed bounced around the majors for four seasons after leaving Los Angeles and earned a grand total of $2.875 million over the rest of his career -- just about $5 million less than he would have made had he stayed in Los Angeles. (Red Sox fans should delight in Reed's misstep. To replace him, the Dodgers traded for Montreal's Delino DeShields. The player they traded? Pedro Martinez, whom the poverty-stricken Expos couldn't afford to keep when he reached superstar status and thus wound up in Boston.)

The question, though, is whether or not Garciaparra committed a similar gaffe (or two) in his dealings with the Red Sox.

In 1998, he agreed to an unprecedented contract for a second-year player: Five years for $23.25 million, with club options that extended the deal to seven years and $44.25 million.

The contract gave Garciaparra far higher salaries ($3.7 million in 2000, $7.5 million in 2001, $9 million 2002) than other players of his experience level during that time. But it also meant the Red Sox were buying out two years of free agency. His salaries in 2003 and 2004 -- $11 million and $11.5 million, respectively -- were lower than Garciaparra could have made had he been on the open market.

By contrast, Rodriguez was earning twice as much ($22 million a year) in '03 and '04, and Jeter was making $15.6 million and $18.6 million.

Had Garciaparra become a free agent after the 2002 season -- when he hit .310 with 24 homers and 120 RBI, with a .352 on-base percentage and a .528 slugging perentage -- it seems clear he would have signed a contract for more than the $11 million a year he was being paid. He would have earned less, certainly, from 1999-2002 than he actually did, but would he have made up for it with a longer, more lucrative free-agent contract? That's the unanswered, and unanswerable, question.

The other mistake was his decision not to accept the four-year, $60-million offer the Red Sox made after the 2003 season. The market had shifted downward by that time, and the $200-million contracts signed by players like Rodriguez andsManny Ramirezswere no longer available. Garciaparra, though, wanted A-Rod/Jeter money. He made the call to play out his contract and become a free agent.

And thus began the downward spiral: The foot injury. The trade. The ripped groin. And now he's out in the street, waiting to see who's interested.

Had Garciaparra become a free agent after '02, he would have been under contract somewhere -- for comfortable wages -- when the wave of injuries hit. Ditto if he'd signed the Sox' offer in '03. His reputation would be intact and he might still be at shortstop. And were he still in a Red Sox uniform, he'd still be the first-name-only, Hall-of-Fame-bound franchise icon ("Nomar!") whose departure from Boston was unthinkable not so long ago.

Strange as it seems, the Red Sox and Garciaparra would look to be a fit this offseason. The Sox need both a second baseman and a first baseman, and Garciaparra says he's willing to switch positions. The fan base certainly would love it. Garciaparra is still a productive hitter (he batted .321 in August and September last year, after recovering from the torn groin), and he actually figures to be one of the best players available via free agency -- and maybe one of the biggest free-agent bargains there'll be, even if his market value actually has been depressed by events of the last two years. His move off shortstop, where he's degenerated to substandard defensive levels, is a plus, too. But his return is unlikely as there's been no talk on either side of a Nomar/Boston reunion.

Be careful what you wish for, goes the old saying; it might come true.

Would that someone had told that to Nomar Garciaparra back when.