Where is the love? That’s what Nomar Garciaparra’s been asking himself for the past week or so.

December started quite nicely for the 30-year old shortstop. He was honeymooning in Hawaii, thinking about his new life as a married man. Then the phone started to ring. It seemed the city that once loved him was giving him the cold shoulder, even as he relaxed and enjoyed his new life with Mia Hamm.

As talk of a Manny Ramirez-for-Alex Rodriguez trade increased, it became more and more apparent that Nomar was going to be the proverbial other shoe to drop. With an MVP (and Gold Glove) shortstop coming to town, there was little need for a man who played that position and was entering the last year of his contract.

Baseball is a business, and no one needs to tell Nomar that. What irked No. 5 is how quickly Red Sox Nation turned its back on him. Fans became infatuated with A-Rod, and quickly turned to speculate over just how much the Sox would get in return for Graciaparra.

Virtually no one suggested the Sox keep Nomar. Everyone wanted to talk about Garciaparra leaving. Would it be LA or Anaheim? Would we get a left fielder or pitching?

On Monday, Garciaparra’s agent went on the offensive. “After all Nomar has done from the first day he stepped on the field for the Red Sox, to wake up on his honeymoon to read the paper and to see that John Henry is in direct talks with A-Rod is a total and complete slap in the face to Nomar,” Arn Tellem told The Boston Globe.

A day later, the Sox returned fire. Principal Owner John Henry called Tellem’s remarks “the height of hypocrisy” in another Globe article. Red Sox management revealed that the team had offered Nomar a four-year, $60-million contract prior to the 2003 season, a proposal quickly dismissed by Team Garciaparra. That deal has since been taken off the table, replaced by an offer that is some $3 million a year less.

Can you say market correction?

Clearly, Mr. Tellem misread the market last spring. If he hadn’t, Garciaparra would be locked up by the Sox for the next five summers. Instead, the Sox began to look south. The A-Rod deal not only replaces Nomar, but gets rid of the headache known as Manny Ramirez.

Nomar has done nothing to deserve any ill will in Boston. He plays hard every night, and is a premier hitter. He has created the Nomar 5 Fund, a charitable foundation that awards grants to charities geared towards Boston-area kids. He and his new wife are building a house in the area.

That said, there was always the belief that he wanted to play elsewhere, and Nomar hasn’t done enough to dispel those rumors. Until now.

Garciaparra even called into WEEI from his honeymoon this week to plead his case. He was convincing, and sounded sincere. Still, it’s hard not to think that the call wasn’t an orchestrated effort by his management team to gain sympathy. Nomar has had a strained relationship (at best) with the media since he arrived on the scene. Now he’s “Nomar from Hawaii” calling a sports talk show?

The spin came a little too late for Nomar. If he really wanted to finish his career in Boston, he should’ve grabbed the $60 million the Sox offered last spring and run all the way to the bank. Instead, he’s stuck running a PR campaign to win over Sox fans.

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a studio analyst for RedSox and Bruins telecasts on NESN.