Will Flemming: This guy

Tuesday 9/1/26

Yesterday I had mentioned Lou Merloni's illogical response during the NESN TV broadcast to the Yankees' Jazz Chisholm stealing a base against the Red Sox with his team up by six runs and then later learned about and listened to the audio of Red Sox radio play-by-play guy Will Flemming, whom I also recently touched in in these pages, showing you what an unprofessional, talentless, fool he is with how he reacted to the same thing, and a racist as well.

Flemming immediately called for violence. That the Red Sox pitcher should hit the next Yankees batter. Time to start throwing hands! Will Middlebrooks, being something of a damp sock--pun not really intended--as both a player and now an analyst, barely pushed back. I'm sure he knew what an ass Flemming was being and making of himself, but probably thought he still has to work with the guy and hoped the moment would pass.

Then Flemming starts complaining about how Chisholm, a Black player, wears his hat, which I don't think he would have done if Chisholm was white. This guy is so bad at his job. He goes off on these ridiculous tangents and rants that make listening to the Red Sox radio broadcast borderline impossible and definitely unpleasant. To me, he's not worth it. If the Sox are on something I can't see, I'll just check in with the MLB site rather than have the team's radio broadcast on as I'm doing whatever, and I'm someone who listens to a ton of baseball on the radio going back to broadcasts from the 1930s.

So then yesterday, this Bozo issues an "apology," saying that he's doing so because people have been attacking him, sending him death threats, so, fine, he's sorry, adding that he gets "fired up" and that's why he crossed a line.

You get fired up? Are you six-years-old? What a joke you are. You can't control yourself? You're rooting that hard for "your" team? You're that lacking in professionalism? You're that much of a man-child?

Most people who have jobs like this, what are thought of as the plum gigs, the "creative" jobs, the "out-in-front" jobs, like writer, broadcaster, talking head pundit, have no ability whatsoever. That's not why they have that job. They have that job for other reasons. It's always other reasons in these cases.

How stupid do you have to be to begin your apology by saying you're only apologizing--which is to say, not apologizing at all--because people went after you? And I'm not defending the mob either, because I know how that works and the mob is comprised of the lowest of the low. But this is what you write? And presumably read back? And then you go, yep, that's the way to do it, and hit "post"? We got us a wordsmith here! No wonder he has that gig, right? Look at those language skills!

Then he lies as well saying he meant no disrespect to the Yankees when he meant total disrespect. This is an adult by the definition of the calendar who would call the Yankees the "Skankees" on Reddit like so many other stunted cavemen. A man who probably actually hates people because of the team they play a game for. This isn't a serious adult, nor is this a serious broadcaster.

It's unfortunate because Boston has such a tradition of exemplary broadcasters, and now they have none where once there was Fred Cusick, Ned Martin and Bob Montgomery, Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn, Joe Castiglione.

Everything gets worse. That's how the world works. Even the broadcast booth. Can you imagine Ned Martin saying that he gets fired up and that's why he starts going off like a racist second grader?

It seems to me that a broadcaster should be somewhat gentlemanly, and definitely not a lout. Flemming is one of those guys who fancies himself, or wants to, all these things that he's not. Compelling in his side stories about this socks and his coffee or whatever inanity he's burbling on about, as well as this voice of the people. Yeah, a voice of the people in that you're a grating half-wit topped off with hate and prejudice.

Look at that mug, too. Maybe work off some of that anger with the occasional session on the treadmill.