Thangst for nothing, Butch

Filling in for Gerry on Monday was Butch Stearns, who must go to bed each night and rise each morning shaking his head in wonderment that he actually has a job.

Butch and Dino were theorizing as to why Fenway crowds have been relatively quiet as of late, even in close games. Stearns himself said he doesn't get too worked up for games now. But that doesn't mean he's passionless. Rather, he's just waiting for the right time:

"I'll angst later. I'll angst in September. I'll angst in October."

You do that, Butchie. In the meantime, let's hope someone is kind enough to pull you aside and inform you that "angst" isn't a verb.

Now, granted, anyone who talks into a microphone for 4 straight hours is going to suffer some lingual lapses. Plus, Stearns is hardly the only WEEI co-host to misspeak. In fact, butchering the English language is something of a club sport over at 850 (Sheppard's got a "C" on his grease-stained jersey for this).

Still, there was something funny about the way Butch made up a word and used it three times in a row for emphasis.

But you know what? Perhaps I'm not giving him enough credit. After all, Butch was filling in for Gerry. And thanks to his malapropism, it was almost like Callahan was there.

Almost. Some things you just can't replace. Like barely-concealed contempt for minorities. Nobody does that like Gerry.