Jerry Remy, R.I.P.

Former MLB player, longtime Boston Red Sox TV color commentator, author and restauranteur Jerry Remy passed away last night after more than a decade long struggle with lung cancer. He was 68.

Back in June, Remy abruptly left the broadcast booth during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, following shortness of breath requiring hospitalization. Remy would resume his duties later that month, but his cancer would return in August forcing him to the sidelines once more. He would make his final public appearance at Fenway Park earlier this month when he threw out the first pitch to longtime teammate and broadcast colleague Dennis Eckersley prior to the AL Wild Card game against the New York Yankees.

A native of Somerset, Massachusetts, Remy was drafted by the California Angels in 1971 and would make his big league debut with the club in 1975 becoming their everyday second baseman. Following the 1977 season, the Angels traded Remy to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Don Aase. In 1978, Remy would be named to his lone AL All-Star team. Remy had little power (he only hit 7 HR in his 10 year MLB career) but had excellent speed stealing 30 or more bases in each of his first four MLB seasons until knee injuries curtailed his baserunning ability. But he remained a good contact hitter and an above average defender at second base. Remy finished his playing career with the Bosox in 1984. In 10 big league seasons, Remy appeared in 1154 games collecting 1226 hits for a lifetime batting average of .275 with 7 HR, 329 RBI and 208 career stolen bases.

In 1988, Remy would join the Red Sox broadcast booth and would remain a fixture there for more than three decades despite his illness. Remy combined his knowledge of the game with an endearing sense of humor which would later earn him the title of President of Red Sox Nation. Remy also authored 8 books including five about Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster who Remy helped get over with Red Sox Nation after initial resistance to having a mascot. Affectionately known as Rem Dawg, Remy owned several restaurants in the Boston area bearing that name.

Unfortunately, the past decade or so had been a struggle with Remy not only for his fight with cancer but his family's legal troubles especially his son Jared who murdered his girlfriend and is serving a life sentence. Through it all Remy maintained his dignity and sense of humor even while losing a tooth during a Red Sox broadcast. R.I.P.

Left-Wing Hostility Towards Kinzinger is Misplaced

When Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger announced on Friday that he would not seek a seventh term to the House of Representatives Trump World was predictably pleased. After all, Kinzinger was one of only 10 Republican Congressmen who voted to impeach former President Trump for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and has, along with Liz Cheney, served on the House Select Committee to investigate said attack. For his part, former President Trump simply said, "2 down, 8 to go!"

But many left-wingers were equally disdainful even while acknowledging his vote to impeach Trump.

Don Winslow: "Before you going getting all boo hoo, remember this:

Adam Kinzinger voted 90% of the time for Trump policies. 90%."

Majid Padellan (a.k.a. BrooklynDad_Defiant): "WHOA! Rep. Adam Kinzinger has decided not to run for reelection. While I appreciate him voting to impeach trump, I also remember he voted for trump policies most of the time, so buh bye."

Avenger Resister: "Adam Kinzinger voted with Trump 90% of the time so no, I won’t miss him. Let’s flip it blue!"

Ricky Davila: "People are calling Adam Kinzinger a principled Republican just because he’s been an outspoken MAGA critic, but all I remember is that he voted against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act as well as voted for Agolf Twitler and 90% of his destructive policies. All I see is GQP."

The common thread here is that Kinzinger should not be admired because he voted with Trump 90% of the time. In so doing they miss the point in its entirely. In Trump World, supporting Trump 90% of the time is treason. It's either 100% or 0%. You're all in or you're all out.

Adam Kinzinger isn't a liberal and has never pretended to be one. Like Cheney, he drew a line when Trump saw fit to prevent the peaceful transition of power and, in so doing, put an end to his career as an elected official. Not only has Kinzinger been disowned by Republicans, he has been disowned by members of his own family.

By all means feel free to disagree with his votes but to suggest Kinzinger is nothing more than a QAnon supporter is both delusional and dishonest. The left-wing hostility towards Kinzinger is simply misplaced and is every bit as nasty as that coming from Trump supporters. In which case, perhaps they are two of a kind and are no better than the Trump supporters they claim to despise.

Bob Melvin Leaves The A's After 11 Seasons to Manage The Padres

In a shocking development, longtime Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin will reportedly leave the club after 11 seasons at the helm to manage the San Diego Padres. Although Melvin had one year left on his existing contract in Oakland, the A's evidently gave Melvin their blessings to interview with the Padres who have offered him a three year contract. 

Melvin succeeds Jayce Tingler who was fired after the Padres' second half collapse. I knew the Padres would hire an experienced manager though I thought they might make an offer to Buck Showalter. Melvin certainly has experience having managed on the big league level for nearly 20 years. His big league managerial experience began with the Seattle Mariners in 2003. After two seasons in Seattle, Melvin would manage the Arizona Diamondbacks for four plus seasons guiding the team to the NL West title in 2007. But Melvin would have his greatest success in Oakland reaching the post-season six times most recently during the COVID shortened 2020 season. However, the A's never reached the ALCS during Melvin's tenure. Can he guide the Padres to a NL pennant and their first ever World Series title?

If nothing else, I think Melvin can keep Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. from shouting at each other in the dugout. Still, with the talent they have the Padres will be expected to return to the post-season soon although I don't think the Los Angeles Dodgers are going anywhere anytime soon.

Of course, there is now a question of who will manage the A's in 2022. I would venture to guess that unlike the Padres, the A's will most likely hire someone with no previous MLB level managerial experience. The reason the A's allowed Melvin to interview with the Padres was to dump his $4 million salary. But if the A's are looking to dump their manager's salary then what other kind of salaries will they be dumping this off-season? If this is the case then Melvin is very lucky to have left on his own terms.

Mort Sahl Pioneered Stand Up Comedy, Improv & Political Commentary

Mort Sahl, an American original born in Canada, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94.

It is a shame that Sahl isn't a household name in the way he was during the 1950's and 1960's. Because without him it is very unlikely we would have seen Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers and Whoopi Goldberg. With only a newspaper in hand, Sahl almost single-handedly pioneered stand up comedy, improv and political commentary. Sahl didn't tell jokes, but rather engaged in spontaneous conversation about our state of affairs. 

His star faded when he concentrated his energies on JFK's assassination. I don't know if turned off his audience so much as it turned off club promoters and TV executives. Sahl didn't disappear entirely, but he never recaptured his earlier stardom as his humor didn't resonate despite his role as a comedy pioneer. Yet his perceptiveness didn't disappear even if most among us couldn't entirely appreciate what he was saying. Consider what he said about Donald Trump back in 2005:

The movies have dissolved the Black man as a political force. The Black man has become a guy who just wants to get his necklaces and his tennis shoes and run a record company, so he can be as good as Donald Trump. You know what Preston Sturges would have done with Trump? He would have been Rudy Vallee, and he would have been a joke. But look where it is now. A guy who’s in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Atlantic City is telling people what it is to be a failure. And there’s nobody on the air to satirize it.

So most people would be lost when it comes to Preston Sturges and Rudy Vallee. But in 16 years, Trump has lost an election and is telling people what is to be a failure. There are plenty of people on the air to satirize it but the horse left the barn. It would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. 

We must also remember that Sahl didn't play favorites. It is easy to satirize Trump (and for good reason). But in most comedic circles satirizing AOC, Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi or Kamala Harris is verboten. Ideology should not get in the way of skewering the fallibility and foils of public figures. Sahl could skewer both JFK and Nixon in equal measure and with equanimity as demonstrated in this appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1960. R.I.P.

The Judge Presiding Over Rittenhouse's Trial Has Guaranteed His Acquittal

I know this story is a couple of days old, but it is worth a bit of discussion given the fact the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager who crossed state lines into Kenosha, Wisconsin with a loaded weapon and ending up killing two people, is scheduled start on Monday.

Two days ago Bruce Schroder, the presiding judge in the case, ruled that the prosecution could not refer to the victims as victims, but that defense attorneys could refer to the victims as arsonists, looters and rioters.  

For his part Rittenhouse is claiming self-defense and Judge Schroder ruled that referring to the people Rittenhouse killed as victims would be prejudicial to the defendant. Now there are some judges who when presiding in self-defense cases do not allow the use of the term victim. This would be fine on its own. But Judge Schroder is allowing the defense to use language which is anything but neutral when it comes to the two people who are dead and cannot defend themselves. By allowing the the defense carte blanche to utilize such dehumanizing and inflammatory language, Judge Schroder has guaranteed Rittenhouse's acquittal before opening arguments have begun.

Should Rittenhouse be acquitted there will be more Kyle Rittenhouses arming themselves going across state lines to kill people while claiming self-defense and more victims who the justice system will not recognize as victims. As for Rittenhouse himself, I believe his acquittal will earn him an invitation to be a keynote speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Cardinals Will Reportedly Hire Marmol as New Manager

Reports have surfaced that the St. Louis Cardinals will name bench coach Oliver Marmol as the team's new manager. An official announcement is expected tomorrow, the day before the beginning of the 2021 World Series.

Marmol's hiring comes a week and a half after the Cardinals abruptly fired Mike Shildt despite making the post-season three years in a row. At 35, Marmol would become the youngest manager in MLB. Not only that but he is younger than current Cardinals pitchers Adam Wainwright, Jon Lester and JA Happ as well as infielder Matt Carpenter and catcher Yadier Molina who is entering the final year of his big league career.

Marmol has spent his entire professional career with the Cardinals' organization who drafted him as a player in 2007. In 2011, Marmol became a minor league hitting coach before spending the next five seasons as a minor league manager. The Cardinals promoted him to the big club in 2017 naming him the first base coach while Mike Matheny was still managing the club. In 2019, Marmol was promoted to bench coach under Shildt.

It will be interesting to see what kind of contract Marmol receives. What happens to Marmol if the Cardinals don't make the post-season in 2022 after making the post-season three straight seasons under Shildt? Then again maybe the Cardinals will attain full flight under Marmol.

JoAnna Cameron, R.I.P.

Actress JoAnna Cameron (a.k.a. Joanna Cameron), best known for starring in the Saturday morning live action show Isis (later re-titled The Secrets of Isis) passed away of complications of a stroke on October 15th. She was 70.

The Secrets of Isis was the first American TV show to feature a female superhero as the lead character when it debuted on CBS in September 1975. The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman would make their prime time debuts the following year. I am just old enough to remember the show which was paired with Shazam! with several crossover episodes. 

However, in my adulthood, I best remember Cameron from the 1974 Columbo episode "Negative Reaction" in which she is featured as the love interest of the murderer played by Dick Van Dyke, in a rare role as a villain. Indeed, I learned of her passing on the Columbo Appreciation Society Facebook page.

Cameron had a relatively brief acting career appearing in films like How to Commit Marriage with Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason, I Love My Wife with Elliott Gould and Brenda Vaccaro and Pretty Maids All in a Row with Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson and Telly Savalas. Cameron would later act onscreen with Hudson in a episode of McMillan. Most of Cameron's work was in TV commercials. For a time, she held the Guinness Book of World Records for appearing in the most national TV commercials before leaving the profession altogether in 1980.

I leave you with an appearance Cameron made on The Merv Griffin Show circa 1978-1979 in which she discusses spending time in Hawaii and learning to navigate around rejection in Hollywood. R.I.P.