Lou Merloni opened up his phone after a game and was baffled. Several of his friends left enraged voice messages, threatening to drive out to Dorchester so they could kick somebody’s ass. It took about four listens for Merloni to figure out whom his buddies were slamming.
Ben Affleck?
The Hollywood star and diehard Red Sox fan made an appearance in the NESN booth that night, and when Merloni came up to the plate, started tearing into him. A few days prior, Merloni said the Red Sox were making a “mockery” of his career for constantly sending him down to Triple-A Pawtucket. He thought it was time for the “Merloni Shuttle” to be taken out of service.
On NESN, Affleck turned Merloni’s words against him, saying he was responsible for making a mockery of himself. This was back in May 2002, so Merloni didn’t hear the commentary until he rewatched his at-bats in the video room. At that point, he was livid. Merloni fired back at Affleck in the press.
“A mockery is his last four movies,” Merloni told reporters in June 2002. “That's a mockery. You've got to be kidding me. He's got enough issues to worry about.”
Merloni’s history with Affleck is relevant today, because the A-list actor is currently involved in a star-studded love triangle with Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, with whom Merloni has also beefed.
Before there was J-Lo, there was Framingham Lou, though he wasn’t feeling very loving when Affleck tried to apologize during a TV segment.
“To be honest with you, I really didn’t want to let him off the hook,” Merloni said. “He was like, ‘I’ll send you all of my movies,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m all set.’ And he was like, ‘Come out to LA, I’ll set you up with all of the girls,’ and I was like, ‘Nah, I’m all set, too.’ I was just like, ‘Whatever, dude. On NESN, you talk so much trash about me on TV, and then on one phone call, you sober up and feel f—- bad? F— you.”
Years later, Merloni was equally defiant when the roles were reversed, and Rodriguez confronted him about something he said on TV. At the time, Merloni was working as a studio analyst for NBC Sports Boston, and Rodriguez was an outright pariah. Fans found out about his steroid use and alleged Centaur self-portrait. About four years later, Rodriguez would sue MLB.
Just like other talking heads, Merloni tore into A-Rod for his litany of transgressions, and somehow, he heard it. Who knew Rodriguez was so aware of “The Baseball Show?”
When Merloni was covering a Red Sox-Yankees game a few days later, Rodriguez approached him, and asked for a minute. Merloni was shocked A-Rod even knew his name.
“That was always the difference between Jeter and A-Rod,” Merloni said. "I played Derek a lot more, but I always had respect for him, and he was always talkative no matter who you were. You never felt that way with A-Rod.”
But when Rodriguez approached Merloni, he acted like they were best buddies.
“He was just like, ‘I heard you say some things. I thought we were always cool, you and I,’” Merloni said. “‘I always respected your game. That’s why I was really taken aback when I heard you say some of those things you said about me.’ I didn’t even bother to ask him where he heard it, and I said, ‘A-Rod, honestly, I never thought we were cool. I never thought you even knew my name.’”
The incident is a remarkable example of Rodriguez’s hypersensitivity. For Merloni, it’s amazing how much A-Rod’s petulance has been forgotten.
"It was weird. He’s a different bird,” Merloni said. “The guy sued Major League Baseball. Now everybody loves him?”