No, Kitty. Bad Kitty.

I, like any sensible Yankee fan, was awfully sorry to see Jim Kaat retire from the Yankees' broadcast booth after 22 seasons of straight talk. I don't have a big problem with anyone in the Bombers' TV booth right now (we'll leave the radio people aside -- that's a story for another day), but Kaat had a different presence. I don't want to say it was "regal." That's getting a little carried away. But Kaat was just above the pandering and the gimmickery that are nearly ubiquitous in the 21st-century TV booth. He never insulted anyone's intelligence. And for as intelligent as Yankee fans are as a fan base, I believe that the fact that John Sterling remains our radio play-by-play guy has to be seen as at least a slight indictment of us. Either that, or it's proof positive that most fans will listen to their team's games on the radio when they can't see them on TV -- in the car, at the beach, or wherever makes sense -- regardless of how bad the play-by-play guy is.

So it was sad to see Kaat leave. Imagine my horror, then, we I turned on a Sox game on NESN Friday night -- unbeknownst to me, DirecTV was offering a week-long free preview of the MLB Extra Innings package, and I could have watched the Yankees -- and heard what I distinctly recognized right away as the voice of Jim Kaat. I couldn't stand that thought that Kaat had "retired" in 2006 only because he wanted to get away from New York, only to grab not just another job, but the same job with the godforsaken Red S*x.

Fortunately, Kaat was only filling in for Jerry Remy. The man Red S*x fans affectionately call RemDawg is on sabbatical after undergoing cancer surgery. He is a local treasure. He is nothing like Kaat. He is an unabashed homer and he is edgy, but he's very good and extremely genuine, as far as I can tell from my limited time spent in from of the enemy's games on TV. Kaat continues to blog for the YES Network Web site and is under contract to Major League Baseball. He is not a fulltime color guy for the Red S*x or NESN. I'm glad.

Kaat is 70 years old. I doubt he'll be working regularly in a booth again. But if he does, I sure hope it's the Yankees' booth.