I Like My Rich Garces With a Sprinkling of Powdered Sugar

Rich "El Gordo Guapo" Garces has been busying himself with minor league ball in Nashua (not Nassau) and now he's setting his sights on the majors. The relief pitcher of indeterminable weight will always be fondly remembered as a hero to all the fat guys in Boston, but could he actually return? Despite not playing in the majors since 2002 Guapo sounds like he's serious.

Now as Guapo runs, Pride staff members unpack Bobble Belly figurines to be given to the first 2,000 fans attending last Thursday's "El Guapo Bobble Belly Night." The figurines, which wiggle only at the belly, must have puzzled the assembly line workers at the Bobblehead factory. But it's guaranteed to boost Pride attendance, which had been last in the league but is rising steadily with the addition of Garces.

The 36-year-old Garces made more than $5 million playing major league baseball. So why is he now riding buses in an independent league?

"I'm doing this because I want to do it," Garces says. "It has nothing to do with money. I just wanted to come up here because I was 45 minutes from here for seven years.

"I lived at the Ritz-Carlton downtown with Manny [Ramírez] in the same building. It's fun for me. Fans come up to me wearing the Guapo shirt, No. 34. They remind me of a lot of things that happened to me in Boston. The good times I spent there, and hopefully, you never know .

Guapo, I pledge you my unwavering support in this matter. Check out the full story at Boston.com.

photo via Boston.com