Bring Back Nomar? No Way

Tighten your batting gloves. Tap your toes. Adjust your wrist band. Dig in and listen.

The guy who helped lift up the Dodgers is the same guy who could drag them down.

The guy who pulled fans to their feet is the same guy who could bring them to their knees.

Only two days into their winter, and the answer to the Dodgers’ biggest question is already clear, and concise, and contracted.

Don’t.

Don’t re-sign Nomar Garciaparra.

Don’t block the development of James Loney.

Don’t spend money on questionable legs and a tender torso when you could spend it on a power hitter or pitcher.

Yes, Garciaparra is the fan favorite whose five walk-off hits -- including two walk-off homers in the season’s final two weeks -- will long be remembered.

But, yes, he also walked off the field in October with only a .229 batting average after the All-Star break.

The good news for Dodgers fans is that he tied the team record for most runs batted in (93) in fewer than 125 games.

The bad news for Dodgers fans is that, well, he played in fewer than 125 games.

He was on the disabled list when the season started. He should have been on the disabled list when the season ended.

His tight body has struggled with various tears and strains such that he appeared in only 122 games, ranking 24th among major league first basemen.

He is a great guy, a solid veteran presence in the clubhouse, a constant lesson in clutch hitting, a consistent reminder of hard work.

But as his hobbling into a groundout in his only at-bat in the season’s biggest and final game Saturday illustrated, he’s also the wrong guy.

Don’t.

“I’m not leaning one way or the other right now,” said a weary-sounding Ned Colletti, the Dodgers general manager, when contacted Tuesday at his office. “This is an intriguing situation. We’ll all have to think it through.”

Colletti said when he approached an emotional Garciaparra in the clubhouse Saturday night, the star hugged him and thanked him.

Colletti said if the decision were based on emotion, it would be as quick and firm as that hug.

“I can’t tell you how much I respect who he is, and how he goes about his work,” Colletti said. “But for me to do what’s right for all concerned, emotion can’t play into it.”

Emotion would vote for giving Garciaparra the two- or three-year deal he will probably seek, paying him the $7 million to $8 million a season he will probably request.

Common sense would vote no.

Would you really want to tie up more than one year of money on a player who had the best work ethic on the team and still missed 45 starts at first base?

Would you really want to do that to your bench?

More than anything, would you really want to do that to Loney?

The kid’s ready. He’s Russell Martin ready. He was sent down twice this summer, and returned better each time.

He was lost in the early season swoon over Martin, Jonathan Broxton, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, but look at his numbers now.

In the season’s last two months, he batted .328 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 58 at-bats.

In his 20 starts at first base, the Dodgers were 15-5.

And, oh yeah, he led the Dodgers in postseason RBIs with three.

“None of this means James is the chosen one, or he’s the man, or anything like that,” Colletti said. “But I told him, this is a game of adjustments, and I really like the way he went down to the minors and came back better each time.”

Colletti likes him so much, when Loney was the player coveted by the Boston Red Sox in trade talks for David Wells this summer, Colletti killed the trade to keep him.

“The last time he came back up this summer, he sent notice that he deserved to stay,” Colletti said.

Will Loney ever be the sort of 35-homer guy that championship teams have at first base? He’s only 22 and power hitting is a slow-brewing talent, so who knows?

Paul Konerko didn’t hit 30 homers until he was 25. Derrek Lee didn’t until he was 27.

The only two things for certain are, the kid led all of minor league baseball with a .380 average for Las Vegas, so he can’t go back there.

And if Garciaparra is given a multi-year deal -- which is probably all he will accept -- then the kid can’t stay on the Dodgers.

“A lot of different things will go into this decision,” Colletti said. “Some of it is how much commitment can we give someone? Another thing is, where are we at with our young players?”

One thing that cannot enter into the decision is Garciaparra’s popularity with the Dodger Stadium fans, who gave him the loudest cheers last weekend.

Yes, he has a huge appeal to the team’s large Latino fan base. But to sign him based on that is an insult to Latino fans everywhere, implying that they are influenced more by a player’s heritage than his success.

Fans are fans, and fans want to win, and while the Dodgers’ newest comeback player of the year was a great story, that story is finished, and everyone will understand if the new chapter will be even better.

“If we’re unsuccessful as a team, I don’t care how much affection fans have for certain players, fans aren’t going to be happy,” Colletti said.

And by using Garciaparra’s money on a power hitter or pitcher, the next chapter will be better.

Not just for the Dodgers, but for another team where he would be a local hero, an important veteran piece, and a guy who wouldn’t have to play the field every day.

Why not the Angels?

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.