"A malingerer"?? "A butcher in the field"... We must not be talking about the same guy. What are you talking about, teams weren't standing in line to trade for him? There's about 25 teams in baseball who would LOVE for him to be their shortstop. The guy's played for peanuts (compared to ARod and Jeter) the last few years and has kept his mouth shut. As for his fielding, while his slinging style causes a few more throwing errors than I'd like, he's got great range and is certainly an above average fielder. Way better than Jeter. Lastly, while he may not hit .360 again, I'll take a shortstop who hits .300 with 25-30 homers, plays above average defense, and never takes a play off anyday. Gripe about Pedro and Manny if you want, but don't lump Nomar in with them.