FAIR OR FOUL?
OBF, BUCKLEY ON REMY
Jerry Remy apologized yesterday for the capital offense of having an opinion.
His was the sort of apology you make when your boss tells you: “Apologize or else.”
The former Red Sox player and current TV analyst really had nothing to apologize for. Nor did he offend anyone worth offending.
Remy’s crime against humanity: Suggesting during Tuesday night’s NESN telecast of the Red Sox 5-4 win that Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka communicate with his catcher and pitching coach without the benefit of a translator.
Remy was led down the path of self-destruction by his broadcasting partner Dave O’Brien, who asked Remy about his objection to having an interpreter on the mound. Remy’s response: “Learn baseball language. It’s pretty simple. You break it down pretty easy between pitching coach and pitcher after a long period of time.”
The entire episode was awkward — to be charitable. Tanaka has been in the majors since 2014. It is not unreasonable for Remy to expect that Tanaka should be able to understand the gist of Larry Rothschild’s comments without a third party being involved. Remy’s remarks came hours after Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt went full Archie Bunker by saying Spanishspeaking Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera would never be someone “you can build a team around” because of “the language barrier.”
In other words, a team leader might need to know all the languages spoken by said players he was hoping to lead. Crazy.
This coincidence was all The Washington Post, CBS Sports, Deadspin, ABC and others needed to bang the “this is a troubling trend of racial and ethnic intolerance most likely caused by President Trump” drum.
Remy was excoriated for uttering some sort of “Welcome to America, now speak English” code. Even though he never actually said that, the dog whistle was loud and clear.
The Red Sox laudably stood by Remy when his son, Jared, was charged with and eventually pleaded guilty to the murder of Jennifer Martel three years ago. They, however, quickly threw Remy under the No. 77 Mass. Ave. bus yesterday as soon as this nonstory/story gained oxygen. “We do not share the views expressed by Jerry Remy during last night’s broadcast,” a team spokesperson said. Koji Uehara and Daisuke Matsuzaka (who spoke English on rare occasions) used interpreters to speak with media and management during their time with the Red Sox. But this goes far beyond linguistics. The Sox are blinded by the fear of not being 200 percent politically correct — even when there’s nothing to correct. No one has been more loyal to State Run Media’s Party Line than Remy during the past threeplus decades. Yet RemDawg was thrown to the wolves the minute he dared to deviate from the approved unwritten speech code of the day.
Here is what the Red Sox should have said about Remy.
“I’ve told him, all of us in Red Sox Nation stand behind him. It’s a terrible thing he’s been going through, but we’re really glad to have him back.”
Sound familiar? Those were the words of team and Boston Globe owner John Henry in 2014, when people like me (incorrectly, I will readily admit) wanted the Red Sox to part ways with Remy because of his son’s criminal record, past and present.
History has proven Henry’s expression of loyalty and compassion in that moment to be right and righteous.
The Red Sox, however, could not bring themselves to say anything of the sort yesterday.
Some crimes, it seems, are far worse than others.