Eck signs deal w/NESN to do 85 games per year.

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I didn’t want to resurrect a long dormant NESN broadcast thread and didn’t see this anywhere. Sounds like he’s happy, it allows Remy to take on a smaller role assuming he’s coming back and it leaves less possible games for Lyons.


Eck:
I'm excited to announce my expanded role with @nesn. I just signed a five year deal to do 85 games, more games than ever! Looking forward to the 2019 season. Repeat! Go @redsox #redsox
 

mauf

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No one actually thought Remy might call 150 games in a season again, but this contract is a surprisingly frank acknowledgement of that. Hope that doesn’t mean Remy’s prognosis has worsened.
 

JohnnyTheBone

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Yes! Fantastic news. I heard on the drive home that Eck and Remy would be part of a three-man booth with O'Brien for 30 games this season. The title defense will be televised, and it shall be glorious.
 

Hank Scorpio

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Awesome news. Now they should offer Lyons a similar contract, except throw in a Yankees cap and a voucher for free flying lessons as a sweetener.
 

InsideTheParker

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Can’t find the link but I saw that Carlos Pena and Salty will be doing color on some of the games.
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2019/02/boston-red-sox-announcers-jerry-remy-dennis-eckersley-part-of-three-man-nesn-booth-for-30-games-this-season.html
Pena has been really good on mlbn. I like him a lot, he's really into metrics and visual analysis, but he has a tendency to speak a bit too loud and emphatically. He needs to tone that down for the booth.
 

joe dokes

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This signing does more than just about any on-field addition would to further my overall enjoyment of watching Red Sox games.

Too bad Eck is not replacing O'Brien.
Although according to the analytics it does drop OB from 50% to 33% of the situation. That's an improvement.
 

bankshot1

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Great news. More Eck is a good thing and Eck and Remy worked so well together it wasn't work, but rather listening to old friends and team mates letting us enjoy their bond.
 

shaggydog2000

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Eck, Remy, and Orsillo would be the three man booth of my dreams.

Lyons, Gomes, and O'Brien would be the three man booth of my nightmares.

Very excited about 85 games of Eck next year.
 

Koufax

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Great signing. Now if they can only wrap up Mookie . . .
 

RG33

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I’m excited by the news, but a bit unnerved at Eck’s very Trumpian Tweeting style. . . . .
 

Wallball Tingle

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I'm tellin' ya, it's time to party!

Such great news, Eck is easily my favorite part of the NESN broadcasts, and he and Remy together are great.
 

Hank Scorpio

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Remy just tweeted out:

“Looking forward to getting to spring training. Feeling real good. Doing between 80 and 90 games this year. Really looking forward to the 30 Eck Dave and I will be doing together. Great season ahead!!!”
 

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Remy just tweeted out:

“Looking forward to getting to spring training. Feeling real good. Doing between 80 and 90 games this year. Really looking forward to the 30 Eck Dave and I will be doing together. Great season ahead!!!”
That’s excellent to hear. I wonder who will be going on the road more. I know Eck isn’t a fan of road trips but I wonder if Remy’s health will have him avoiding travel. Either way it’s a nice question to have instead of which games will Lyons or Gomes be broadcasting.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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That’s excellent to hear. I wonder who will be going on the road more. I know Eck isn’t a fan of road trips but I wonder if Remy’s health will have him avoiding travel. Either way it’s a nice question to have instead of which games will Lyons or Gomes be broadcasting.
Didn't Gomes take a job in the Diamondbacks organization? I don't think we'll be hearing much from him this year.

Eck doing 85 and Remy doing 80-90 with 30 games of overlap leaves 40-50 games to fill in. My guess is that Lyons will probably be doing the west coast trip in August (SD, COL, LAA). I'd say the first west coast trip as well but that's the first two weeks of the season. Seems unlikely that won't be Remy or Eck for at least part of it.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Eck doing 85 and Remy doing 80-90 with 30 games of overlap leaves 40-50 games to fill in.
Are we including Spring Training in this equation? Because if Eck is doing 85 games and Remy is doing 85, that's 170 games. And if they're doing 30 games as a tandem, that brings the total down to 140 games. Assuming that the Sox will be on national TV (ESPN, TBS, FOX) for 10 games, that's only really 12 games that will be Remy or Eck-less.
 

YTF

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Remy just tweeted out:

“Looking forward to getting to spring training. Feeling real good. Doing between 80 and 90 games this year. Really looking forward to the 30 Eck Dave and I will be doing together. Great season ahead!!!”
That’s excellent to hear. I wonder who will be going on the road more. I know Eck isn’t a fan of road trips but I wonder if Remy’s health will have him avoiding travel. Either way it’s a nice question to have instead of which games will Lyons or Gomes be broadcasting.
I would guess that Remy will do the majority the home game telecasts with very limited travel. Perhaps the few from Yankee Stadium that don't get bumped for national coverage and maybe London. That right there will put him in the 80-90 range.
 

MuzzyField

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I would thing the negotiation would be you (MLB) deal with it. The cost is significant and it's not like NESN is leading the regionals in spending on quality production in their home venue. MLB will want better.
 

gedman211

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Most likely, but they are designated as Sox home games so I'm curious if the team's ownership who also owns NESN might have been able to negotiate that in.
I'd guess that Henry will see this as an opportunity to cross-market his MLB and EPL interests. I doubt he'd need much convincing that London games are in his best business interests regardless of who has the TV rights.