He was complaining about his back during the Yankee series. Looks like a couple days, at least, of Gene Ken Macha?


Edit...of course, I knew that...

Anni. His name is Ken Macha. He managed Pawtucket in the early 90s before he went to coach and manage the Oakland As. He is very knowledgeable, but has the personality of a rock. Reminds me of when I was a kid and Joey Bishop used to sub for Johnny Carson. They might as well use a tape recorder and Buster from Mythbusters.

I'll say it. Macha > Remy. Yea he's got a bland personality, but the guy can talk baseball better than Remy any day of the week. I didn't have to hear about what Jerry's favorite reality TV show was, or how the next 53 people to click on the Remy Report will win free Rem Dawg coasters, or any of that crap. And not once did Don Orsillo go into that insanely annoying ten minute giggle fest after hearing some mildly funny joke. I really don't like Remy at all, so Macha will be a welcomed change for a little while.

Macha was pretty rough, IMO.
knows the game but zero personality and a weak, thin voice that wasn't audible half the time.
also some of his "stories" went on way too long with no real payoff at the end.

is Eck still around?

I thought Macha did okay, but I'm a Remy guy and value a charisma out of my color guy that Macha doesn't provide. I'm not blind and don't need the commentators to describe everything to a T for me (though I can see how Don-Jerry would indeed upset somebody who cannot see). Also, Macha kept talking about Oakland over and over and over. I know that that's his only real ML experience, but it got a bit old by the sixth for me.

I think Remy and Don do a good job together

I'm not the biggest Remy fan, but I'll give credit where credit is due - that stuff hasn't been nearly as prevalent this season as it was last. Yeah, you'll get the occasional "Remdawg Nation" plug, but it is not as bad as the constant "President of Red Sox Nation" garbage in every game last season. I'm hoping that was a Dr. Steinberg monstrosity that has since gone away with him.

I thought Macha was brutal in pre/postgame shows last year. Not Sam Horn brutal, but he didn't seem comfortable at all in front of the camera. He's seemed more at ease so far this year -- and offered some decent analysis as a result. Considering that he's not Mr. Charisma, and not experienced with in-game broadcasting, I thought he did a solid job today.

And I have to give Orsillo some credit there, too. After a slow start, Don asked a few baseball questions, as well as bringing up some of their shared experiences from their Pawtucket days, to draw a bit more out of Macha. Definitely got better as the game went on.

I don't entirely understand the Remy hate, on the other hand. Not with how bored to tears I've been watching so many opposing team broadcasts over the past few years. It's a 3 1/2 or 4 hour game with 25 minutes of actual action. Not every second of it demands analysis...and for that matter, even between all the wheezing and shilling for the Remy Report, Red Sox Nation, and whatever promos NESN has him read, Remy actually does provide more analysis than most of the hacks in Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Detroit, and on down the line.

But whatever. I suppose it might be more tiresome if you haven't repeatedly gotten stuck listening to some of the godawful alternatives.

Ken Macha is an extremely nice man who knows a lot about baseball. But I'd rather listen to Sam Horn read Beowulf out loud than hear Ken Macha as a full-time color man.

Zero chemistry. Zero charisma. Zero inflection. He's the white Jim Rice, but less mealy-mouthed.

Get Eck in there. I've said it countless times here, Eck and McDonough for the one series in 2003 was the best duo I've ever heard. Eck is amusing, but also very, very insightful. He knows a shit-ton more about pitching than anyone else there and really teaches you something about the game while you're watching it. At the very least I would dig it if they had brought in Tewks for a couple games.

How long is Remy out for?

hopefully he won't be able to use this time to film more awful commercials

Rom is totally right. Remy is Vince Scully compared to what's out there.

Besides, usually he only goes all the wall when things get boring. He makes it entertaining.

I agree. It's always when the score is 9-1 in the 7th inning that he goes insane. He always acts according to the game situation

I remember about five years ago Remy had a kid's graduation, so Eck took over on color for the weekend, and it was excellent.

I like Remy, but his schtick gets tiresome over a long season(even though I know he's great compared to the alternatives). I've always wanted to see if a 3-man booth with Eck in there could work.

After watching MLB.tv and EI for years, Remy is one of the best out there. If you are lucky enough to get NESN all the time, you don't realize how lucky you are

Someone should call NESN and ask them if Don and Jerry realize that there's a baseball game going on, and ask if maybe they could talk about it a bit.