Harder than you think

I miss Jerry Remy. Who doesn't?

By this time he makes it sound easy. He can get technical without going all MIT on us, and he sure has a sense of humor, even mischief. He knows how serious a business the game of major league baseball is, but he also knows it beats working.

He's got it all figured out.

But he wasn't always this good, and he might not have become the RemDawg of New England lore were it not for Sean McDonough. Make no mistake: no Sean McDonough, no RemDawg. Period. I'm sure Jerry Remy would acknowledge that. Hope so, anyway.

Sean invented Jerry Remy the broadcaster. He recognized what Jerry had to offer and he knew how to get it out of him. As people should know by now, Jerry Remy is not naturally outgoing off the air. He is extremely private, and he doesn't need much in the way of people outside his family. He's not, shall we say, naturally chatty away from the mike.

RemDawg is his alter ego, and it took McDonough to unearth it.

It's still kinda spooky, by the way, to tune in, hear Don Orsillo's voice, and have to remind yourself that he isn't McDonough. He's at least a 90-percent voice-alike. He and Jerry have an excellent rapport, I must say, and at times it's almost as if Sean never left.

Almost.

Anyway, the color man's job isn't easy. Only the real good ones know how to strike the proper balance of insight, criticism, wit, etc. Remy has it, and the drop-off has been rather evident when we listen to the parade of nightly replacements.

That said, it is clear that Dennis Eckersley does indeed have the potential to be a good color man. I know he had a rocky start, and I'm not even referring to his oops moment a little while back. He's been a natural in the studio, but in-game analysis is a far different thing, and he wasn't so coherent in the beginning.

I thought, however, he made a breakthrough Tuesday night in Detroit. Maybe it just took the presence of a 20-year old pitcher to unleash him, but I thought he was sensational.

Here is where Having Been There is a priceless advantage. Dennis Eckersley is not only a Hall of Fame pitcher, but he is also a Hall of Fame pitcher who broke into baseball as a cocky 20-year-old in 1975. He could put himself into the head of 20-year-old Detroit rookie Rick Porcello as few on this planet could.

Once upon a time, he was Rick Porcello.

He started warming up when he addressed the subject of Porcello's alleged poise. I can't quote exactly -- sorry, I wasn't taking notes -- but the gist of it was this:

"Sure, he's got poise -- now. I remember when I was 20 and throwing the gas and everything was going great. Let's see how much poise he's got when he starts getting knocked around a little, and he will get knocked down a little."

Eckersley was almost laugh-out-loud funny describing Porcello's trials and tribulations attempting to get through a game when he only had one pitch working (that's not to say he was making fun of the kid, because he wasn't. He was empathizing). And he was terrific as he pulled Papelbon through that wild-and-woolly ninth, in which the ever-entertaining Papster loaded the bases before striking out the side.

Knowing The Eck's credentials and his engaging personality, he ought to be good. But the job is not easy, and he's a long way from being the RemDawg. But Jerry Remy wasn't always so good, either, and remember: He'd still be Just Another Guy (if employed as a broadcaster at all), were it not for Sean McDonough.