Empyreal Environs

I was an early adopter of Apple’s iPod; I bought the 5 gigabyte model when it first came out, before there were 10G or 20G configurations available. I loved every inch of it, from its distinctive 90-degree Lucite edges to its mechanical navigation wheel.

Only recently, however, have I started exploring the podcasting spectrum. As with other self-publishing ventures (this site included), the results can be mixed. You can find premium offerings put forth by National Public Radio such as selected clips of Bill Littlefield’s “Only a Game” or Robert X. Cringely’s “NerdTV” from the eponymous Public Broadcasting Service program. There are also the shows put forth by My Sports Radio, which can be uneven in execution, but do not lack for enthusiasm.

My Sports Radio’s Red Sox program, hosted by Alex Reimer, is called “Without a Curse”. Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal was a recent guest, engaged to speak about the Theo Epstein imbroglio. The week before, David Pinto of Baseball Musings was quizzed on possible offseason moves by the Red Sox and other teams. The host was congenial but unflinching, asking questions repeatedly if he felt his guest was skirting the issue.

Reimer, by the way, is 12 years old. In fact, the day he interviewed Pinto, October 31st, other kids his age were trick or treating or pranking their neighbors.

He’s been a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and he uses a clip from this appearance in his intro. Despite his years, I’d say he’s better at conducting interviews than the majority of the so-called talent on the airwaves at WEEI. He can hold his own in baseball discussions with some of the game’s notable personalities, which is more than can be said for WEEI mainstays such as Michael Felger or John Meterparel.

In fact, in his show with McAdam, he said in a jaded tone, “I don’t listen to [“The Big Show”] much any more,” to which the beat writer quipped, “Was it something I said, Alex?” If you have qualms listening to a young kid talk baseball, just remember, you eventually got used to Tony Massarotti’s somewhat lacking timbre. What Reimer lacks in age he makes up in smarts and confidence. Check him out now before the Boston sports scene loses yet another young rising star to burnout.