FanHouse JerryRemy

NESN broadcaster and former Red Sox and Angels second baseman Jerry Remy -- known affectionately in households across New England as the Rem-Dawg -- is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the announcing booth as he continues to recover from the effects of lung cancer surgery.



Remy missed a handful of spring training games this March as he recuperated from the procedure and has been absent from the broadcast booth since April 30 after being diagnosed with pneumonia, but the specifics of his illness were undisclosed until Wednesday.

Is Dustin Pedroia an anarchist? Probably not. But that doesn't mean he respects Red Sox Nation authority the way a young whippersnapper -- even one of his prodigious talents -- might. Why, here's Pedroia telling a few lucky fans exactly what he thinks of Sox announcer and Red Sox Nation President (that this is a real, actual title continues to baffle me) Jerry Remy. He's not exactly kind:



Oooh, slam! I would say that Pedroia is probably just poking a little interorganizational fun at Remy, the way the good old boys presumably do, but is there any chance he's not joking? After all, it's true: Jerry Remy did stink at baseball.

(HT: Red Sox Monster)

Watching the Red Sox play baseball on NESN is usually an enjoyable experience for viewers at home whether they're actually Red Sox fans or not. The combination of Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo in the booth makes for the most entertaining booth in baseball by far, as the two men often spend their time making fun of themselves, fans, and others.

Of course, sometimes they have too much fun while calling games and can't even talk. This is what happened on Sunday afternoon.

So what set off the laughter? Cows, of course.

It's the Fourth of July, which for many Americans, is a wonderful excuse to get drunk and stuff your face, all under the guise of celebrating freedom.

And if you're a competitive eater, you can actually make a few bucks in the process. It's not exactly glamorous, but, hey, everybody's good at something, and for Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, it's all about chugging hot dogs (video proof here).

Ah, yes, the ol' "cannonball technique." (Actually, what I know about competitive eating consists of the few seconds each year I tune into the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, before puking and changing the channel. Maybe the cannonball technique is banned in many states.)

By the way, I love how ESPN has an on-scene reporter quizzing the contestants after the Chestnut pulls out the overtime victory (this seems like an event tailor-made for Heidi Watney; I'm guessing Jerry Remy agrees), and even better, Kobayashi has his own interpreter.

In case you're wondering, Kobayashi says he wasn't quick enough in the five-dog overtime eat-off, but he plans on being back in '09. Oh, and with the victory, Chestnut is still the No. 1 ranked eater. Don King would be proud.

Previously on FanHouse
Joey Chestnut Beats Takeru Kobayashi at Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
Kobayashi vs. Chestnut Hot Dog Live Blog

In the most anticlimatic announcement since Nathan Lane came out of the closet, Red Sox TV analyst and former second baseman Jerry Remy was named president of Red Sox Nation, ending one of the more curious PR initiatives ever to be hatched on Yawkey Way since Carl Yastrzemski had his own line of breads in 1967.

The Rem Dawg received over 39,000 votes, finishing a clean 25,000 votes above the second place candidate and besting the likes of former Sox players Sam Horn and Rich Garces, as well as the de facto Commissioner of Baseball, Peter Gammons, and a handful of "common fans" who earned enough votes to land among the top five.

Few candidates had the raw appeal or star credentials of Remy, who, since becoming the Red Sox' color analyst in 1988, has become something of a cult icon among Boston fans. As for what the position of President actually entails, well, we're not really sure. But Jerry's got a cool mission statement on his website, TheRemyReport.com:

"We have all been through countless campaigns filled with promises. Some fulfilled, most not. So I make no promises. This will be a new experience for the Red Sox, for Red Sox Nation, and for the first president. But this you can count on: as president, I will always remember my responsibility to you, and I will always act as your voice within the Red Sox organization. Always."

And for just $14.95 a year, you, too, can be a member of Red Sox Nation. And pledge allegiance to Remy.

Sometimes, it's tough for me to detect tongue-in-cheek-ness, so I could be off a little bit here ... but Bill Simmons is absolutely firing away at Jerry Remy for Remy's tongue-in-cheek destruction of Simmons' Red Sox Nation President application on a Sox broadcast this week.

After Remy pretended he didn't know who Simmons was, and appeared to take Simmons' signature brand of irony seriously, Simmons is punching his way out of the corner like Lil' Mac:

Remy has not been this uspet since the Store 24 called him and told him they were not going to be carrying Marlboro Reds anymore.

You know what, Jerry Remy? Normally, I don't feud with retiring second basemen unless they have a career OPS over .660. In this case, I'm going to make an exception.

Originally, I had planned to bow out of the race and throw my support behind the great Peter Gammons, who really should be Red Sox Nation president. But screw that. I'm going to stay in the race, I'm going to win the presidency, and you know what my first act's going to be? I'm going to push the Red Sox to ban all smoking in Fenway Park.

Late last week, the Boston Red Sox announced the most special of special things: a chance to be president of Red Sox Nation! Apparently as long as someone nominates you, you're in the hunt on the fan club's official Web site. There are some nice perks such as tickets to games, a trip to Spring Training and use of a Fenway Park suite.

All and all, a pretty sweet gig if one is elected.

Resident ESPN Red Sox fan Bill Simmons threw his name into the ring recently with a tongue and in cheek application. (I've provided that for you after the jump.) And Jerry Remy, Red Sox announcer and acting president for now, took him to task for it on-air, going so far as throwing his letter in the trash. This was rather tongue in cheek as well -- although I could see where some were confused and thought it was real. I certainly did at first. You can get a full transcript of Remy's ripfest on Simmons at Boston Dirt Dogs or Awful Annnoucing. Pretty funny stuff.

So to recap: this was all one big joke for both parties involved. Man, how fun is this? Red Sox Nation 4 eva!

(Big ups to Boston Sports Media Watch for clearing up the confusion on this one.)

It may be time for Julio Lugo to call in an exorcist. Because, yes, things have gotten that bad for him.

The embattled Red Sox shortstop has been simply putrid at the plate, in an 0-for-31 skid that got him dropped from the leadoff spot, and batting an unquestionably anemic .089 over the last 30 days.

But during last night's loss to the Texas Rangers, Lugo proved he didn't need to take bat in hand to ruin everyone's good time. In the bottom of the eighth, with two out, the Looger was called in to pinch run after a Dustin Pedroia double. With the Sox down by one run and the red-hot Kevin Youkilis at the plate -- the same Kevin Youkilis who'd already launched a two-run homer in the second inning -- Lugo broke for third and was thrown out by a country mile.

You can't blame the guy for trying; he'd been 20-for-20 in stolen base attempts so far this season. But this one played out so awkwardly -- Lugo didn't slide, opting instead to try to bowl the third baseman over -- even Sox color man Jerry Remy declared it one of the strangest attempted steals he'd seen in a while.

The move left a few of Lugo's teammates bewildered as well, according to today's Boston Globe:

Youkilis, who was left to lead off the ninth, wouldn't offer any theory or explanation.

"You're going to have ask Julio about it. I'm not going to answer. I'm not here to answer for Julio. You'll have to ask Julio about the questions," said Youkilis.

I've gone on record as saying I think Lugo's gonna turn it around and prove a late-summer hero. But that's assuming some crazed Sox fan doesn't get his or her mitts on him before that.

Via Sox & Dawgs I bring you NESN's Jerry Remy, who was flashing his mad air guitar skills between games of the Red Sox's doubleheader on Thursday. His dedication to the art is impressive -- he didn't simply fall down there at the end, he was actually putting the finishing touches on his Keith Richards' impersonation. Really, you have to admire such dedication.