Who let the Rem Dawg out?

September 27, 2005 11:34 AM

RedSoxFilter: What's Jerry Remy's deal?

I've been watching/listening to a lot of Sox games on NESN since I got a password for MLB.tv. I used to watch a lot of games on NESN when I lived in Boston, but haven't seen much NESN in the intervening 4 years until this season. Which brings me to my question.

Is Jerry Remy an alcoholic? Just getting senile? Crazy? A little bit of each? Or is that just his on-air character? And is Don Orsillo playing the straight man? Is he just always taken by surprise? Is he just completely out of his element (sorry, couldn't resist the joke) in trying to deal with Rem-Dawg?

I'm familiar with the roles and back and forth of play-by-play announcer/color commentator in the broadcast booth, but these 2 are another story entirely.

I emailed this question around to a group of my Sox fan friends, some of whom work inside the organization, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Can anyone shed any light on this? Just curious.

posted by LilBucner to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

Remy's just a character, that's all. He and Don Orsillo have fun together, even when they're being odd, and that's why it's fun to listen to them. I'll take them over pretty much any other baseball announcer/color commentator pair I've ever heard. They're rarely boring, and that's a good thing in baseball.

Plus, Jerry really knows the game inside and out. Check out his website.
posted by cerebus19 at 11:38 AM on September 27, 2005

What cerebus19 said. Remy and Orsillo are a great team, in that they're able to capture the thrilling moments, examine and explain the minutia of the game, and entertain the heck out of their audience (and themselves) when things get a little slow.

I do think Remy's in danger of overdoing the "Rem-Dawg" thing, what with the website, all the merch he sells, and his plans for a restaurant near Fenway. Sometimes they do seem to get overly wacky, and the running bit with Wally grates on my nerves. But in the end, he's a damn good color man, and I'm glad he's there.

Castiglione and Trupiano (the radio guys), on the other hand, they're just annoying old senile farts. Can't stand them.
posted by schoolgirl report at 2:06 PM on September 27, 2005

I see from his profile that LilBucner (glad that didn't begin with another 'B') is from Philly, so maybe he doesn't know that Remy is both a former Sox player and a local boy. From Somerset, MA, IIRC. He feels comfortable in the job. Maybe too much so, but I also prefer to hear him and Orsillo than any other baseball pair. I saw Remy on a Fox broadcast, and he elevated it far above the usual Fox blather. I could tell he was biting his tongue some, though. A couple of times the Fox announcer asked him an inane question that Remy just ignored.

The radio guys are pretty stale.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:20 PM on September 27, 2005

Response by poster: Kirth ... I'm familiar with Remy's history with the Sox. I'm a huge fan of Jerry and Don, but today's broadcast just inspired the question. And as a Sox fan, don't worry ... I would never name myself after who you were thinking of ...
posted by LilBucner at 2:56 PM on September 27, 2005

Jerry Remy's about the best in the business. Besides knowing the game and being entertaining, he is the one sports announcer I know of who will tell the truth about players, managers and reporters and call them out when they deserve it. He doesn't need the job and you can tell. Plus he's open about being a shut-in who watches Days of Our Lives on the road.

The Sox radio guys are getting "stale"? I think we're spoiled in New England with the EEI guys, Jerry and Don, Tommy Heinson and Mike Gorman, etc. When the PPV sports packages have their free preview weeks, check out some of the regional coverage. It's pretty awful on average.
posted by yerfatma at 4:56 PM on September 27, 2005

For the last three seasons I've only had the WEEI/mlb.com audio webcast, not the video. They were a great team when I lived in NESN-land. What is he doing now?
posted by sohcahtoa at 5:01 PM on September 27, 2005

whatever happened to sean mcdonough?

/15 year boston exile
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:37 PM on September 27, 2005

Oh man, don't be hatin' on Joe and Jerry -- they might be getting a bit old and stale, but compared to most of the other radio guys out there, they're knowledgeable and interesting. Almost a throwback to the days when baseball was a game and not a business.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 3:40 AM on September 28, 2005

Sean McDonough's been doing Big East college sports lately, among other things. He's got a Wiki entry(!).
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:13 PM on September 28, 2005