The Gonz Show: Sean Casey

Former big leaguer Phil Nevin once said you get so close to people when you talk, they think you're going to lick their face. I'm just warning you, I charge $250 an hour.
That's not a bad rate!

You have such a reputation for being friendly, you're often called "The Mayor." Careful—if Menino finds out, every day will be street-cleaning day on your block.
[Laughs.] I don't need that. I like to sleep.

You two should have a foot race to decide who keeps the title. I hear you're a slow runner, so he'll have a chance. Loser moves to Lowell.
Nah. He can stay the mayor. I'll just stay in the background.

Have you ever been ejected from a game?
Twice. The first time, I argued a call, and I came back to the dugout and another player said something to the ump. [The umpire] was like, "Casey's gone!" It was a case of mistaken identity. The other one was a bench-clear in 2003 against the Phillies, when I was with the Reds. Someone threw a punch at Adam Dunn, one of my best friends, and I retaliated.

Sean, I want to like you, man, but I grew up in Philly. That hurts me.
Well, I ended up on the bottom of the pile with [Phillies catcher] Todd Pratt pounding away at me, so he probably got the best of me in the end.

The Pirates traded you to Detroit for Brian Rogers, a guy who pitched in the majors for about 35 seconds. That would be like Boston magazine trading me to Los Angeles magazine for a subscription renewal card. Did you take that personally?
[Laughs.] Not really. You said Brian Rogers, but I didn't even remember who I was traded for. I just know I was traded to the Tigers and we ended up in the World Series.

How often do you get "Casey at the Bat" jokes?
A lot. They're pretty lame. Yeah, you gotta come up with something more original than that. Absolutely.

By the way, how does Boston compare with Mudville?