Remy apologizes for Tanaka comment
NEWYORK — Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy has apologized for his on-air remarks that pitchers such as Yankees star Masahiro Tanaka shouldn't be allowed translators on the mound.
Remy apologized on Twitter a day after he said during the NESN telecast of the game between Boston and New York that pitchers such as the Japanese-born Tanaka should “learn baseball language.”
His comments quickly drew sharp criticism on social media.
“I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments during the telecast last night,” Remy tweeted Wednesday.
The Red Sox and NESN released statements distancing themselves from Remy's remarks.
Remy has been a popular Red Sox announcer since 1988. He was a Boston infielder for seven seasons and is a member of the team's Hall of Fame.
In 2013, Major League Baseball adopted a rule that permitted interpreters to join mound conferences.
“In the playoffs, we’ve really come together and we know we need to play well to make the seniors’ last year worth it,” Moreau said. “We’re just clicking right now. Sometimes it happens and it goes, but it’s staying. This feels absolutely amazing. We aren’t a 10th seed and we’re showing that.”
North Smithfield (17-3 Division II) couldn’t recover from Saturday’s emotionally draining 2-1 defeat to Barrington in the winners’ bracket semifinal at Rhode Island College. The high-powered offensive attack recorded just one hit in the opening four innings and only Ledger, a freshman catcher, reached base safely twice.
Despite the slow start, the Northmen still had a chance to take the lead in the fifth inning when they scored two runs and loaded the bases with two outs for senior Lorenza O’Donnell. The shortstop belted a ball to center, but Ashley Bullen made a catch in front of the fence.
“They came a little hungry and we beat them during the season and we came in thinking we could play a little better than last time and still beat them,” North Smithfield coach Paul Mercier said. “(North Smithfield) turned on the switch half way through and you could see the difference.
“(Vanessa Venkataraman) was throwing the ball a lot harder and the attitudes changed a little bit. St. Raphael made the plays. They made the plays.”
St. Raphael (13-9 Division II) will play its final road game of the playoffs – the losers’ bracket final and the D-II final will be at Rhode Island College – Thursday at Johnston Memorial Park against No. 6 Johnston, which outlasted No. 5 Rogers Wednesday afternoon.
The Saints have already avenged regular-season defeats twice in the losers’ bracket and SRA coach Ron LaBree hopes his squad can add Johnston to the list to either earn a playoff rematch with Mount St. Charles or a date with Barrington.
“They turned it around defensively and we’re hitting the ball well,” LaBree said. ‘Taylor Moreau had a big day at the plate. Their gameplan today was to pitch around Haley Howarth and we did what we had to do when that happens – protect her. They stuck together and they had fun today.”
The visitors took a lead they would never relinquish in the second inning. Freshman catcher Saylor Costa (walk), Moreau (double), Casandra Yanny (RBI single) and Lexi Sargo (RBI single) all reached base before Venkataraman recorded an out. Courtesy runner Liz Fera, Moreau and Sargo all scored runs during the inning.
Charette, who dealt with back problems for long stretches of the regular season, made the lead stand up. The sophomore set down 12 of the first 13 batters she faced thanks to some solid defense from Bullen, Howarth and Cameille Keith.
“My back got better after the Burrillville game,” Charette said. “It was just upper-back pain every time I threw the ball. It’s all good now.”
Moreau doubled in Howarth in the third to increase the lead to four.
The Northmen finally solved Charette in the fifth, as sophomore Liz Jalette and designated player Jill DePari recorded singles. Alyssa Murray scored on a fielder’s choice and Venkataraman cut her team’s deficit to 4-2 with a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Gianna Capracotta.
After a Hope Trowbridge single loaded the bases with two outs, O’Donnell launched a 2-0 pitch to the fence, but Bullen was there to end the threat.
“It almost happened in the fifth,” Mercier said. “It wasn’t meant to be. Lorenza put a charge in it and she just missed it – she just missed it.”
Ledger didn’t miss her pitch in the sixth when she wrapped a home run around the left-field foul pole to cut her team’s deficit to just one. Charette didn’t allow the ball to leave the infield for the rest of the game to secure the win.
“I just said to myself after the home run that I had to keep it together because we were still winning the game,” Charette said. “This feels great. I knew we could do it.”