http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/06/12/need-seo-head-here/S7rE1shwqS5EcFH5VUEhKM/story.html
Discuss. Whatever you think about his schtick with Remy, I think losing Orsillo would be a huge loss.
Is there a Chance Orsillo Is (Very)Gone?
- Thread starter Van Everyman
- Start date
Discuss. Whatever you think about his schtick with Remy, I think losing Orsillo would be a huge loss.
I've been an Orsillo defender, but if he didn't end up being a lifetime "Voice of The Red Sox" kind of guy, I don't think I'd miss a beat. It is indeed a wasteland out there on the airwaves, but the Sox TV gig is about a plum non-national gig as exists out there. The last guy was better, and they're capable of finding another better one. I guess it boils down to whether you trust them to prioritize the right strengths in their candidates.
Do you mean McDonough? I agree he was great. Feel like there was all kinds of buzz about why he left but none of it was ever confirmed.
Have to figure it would be Dave Obrien. I believe his radio deal ends this year but has an option. I'd much prefer him but would miss him on the radio.
NESN is notoriously cheap so it wouldn't surprise me if they make Orsillo some lowball offer or try to find someone else who will work for less. Still, I don't think announcer boy has really any other options unless some other MLB team will be in need of a PBP announcer after this season. He had a chance to go to TBS a few years ago but turned it down. He may have to take whatever NESN is willing to give.
Uhhh... How about a link for all that stuff that was quoted in the OP? I'm assuming it's from Chad Finn unless I hear otherwise.
I really hope they keep Orsillo. He's taken a lot of crap on this board over the years from whining a-holes who have no earthly fucking idea (a) how horrible most other MLB broadcasters are, (b) how hard it's been for him to deliver solid work while being partnered with a non-stop merry-go-round of partners over the past several years during Remy's multiple absences. Not to mention successfully navigating the tone and tenor of this year's broadcasts despite the murder trial and life sentence to Remy's kid. You may think he's vanilla, or you might be sick of the giggle-fests and the "down by way of the K" calls, but Red Sox fans have it made with this guy compared to the vast majority of baseball cities.
He's family friendly. He's consistent. He's convivial. He carries the Red Sox Marketing Banner seamlessly, without blatantly shilling for the club and its sponsors. He's improved at adding his own in-game commentary and observations regarding on-field action, while still deferring to the "expert" ex-ballplayer sharing the booth. And he's got one of the best sets of pipes and most listenable voices in the nation when it comes to sports broadcasting. That last point is beyond dispute. That TBS keeps bringing him aboard for the MLB postseason is proof of it.
I'm certain that if he did put himself out there, he'd land another job in a heartbeat. But I'm hoping this mid-season vacation is merely a chance for him and his wife to do something summer-related with his kids for once -- you know, while they're still kids.
I really hope they keep Orsillo. He's taken a lot of crap on this board over the years from whining a-holes who have no earthly fucking idea (a) how horrible most other MLB broadcasters are, (b) how hard it's been for him to deliver solid work while being partnered with a non-stop merry-go-round of partners over the past several years during Remy's multiple absences. Not to mention successfully navigating the tone and tenor of this year's broadcasts despite the murder trial and life sentence to Remy's kid. You may think he's vanilla, or you might be sick of the giggle-fests and the "down by way of the K" calls, but Red Sox fans have it made with this guy compared to the vast majority of baseball cities.
He's family friendly. He's consistent. He's convivial. He carries the Red Sox Marketing Banner seamlessly, without blatantly shilling for the club and its sponsors. He's improved at adding his own in-game commentary and observations regarding on-field action, while still deferring to the "expert" ex-ballplayer sharing the booth. And he's got one of the best sets of pipes and most listenable voices in the nation when it comes to sports broadcasting. That last point is beyond dispute. That TBS keeps bringing him aboard for the MLB postseason is proof of it.
I'm certain that if he did put himself out there, he'd land another job in a heartbeat. But I'm hoping this mid-season vacation is merely a chance for him and his wife to do something summer-related with his kids for once -- you know, while they're still kids.
mabrowndog said:
Discussed this morning in Chad Finn's thread.
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/79199-chad-finn-underrated/page-2#entry5468420
Chad Finn said:
Because his ESPN & Westwood One work is too lucrative? Or is he leery of being tied down to a local gig?
He still lives in NH, right? So it's not because he'd be uprooting his life.
I'd prefer not to have the tandem of Remy and Orsillo, but of the two, I think I'd prefer Orsillo. I just get so sick and tired of them talking about everything except baseball. That may be because they have been together for such a long time and there is no guaranty that Orsillo won't be right back there with a new partner. But, I don't want to hear about what color ties they will be wearing.
Chad Finn said:
I realize NESN's cheapness has been oft-discussed, but in rough figures how does that gig pay relative to other MLB team TV broadcasters? And how does it compare to what Castig and DOB earn for their WEEI work?
I know Iaughed at the 'back door' and he'd still need help getting from Fenway to Marina Bay without running into Florian HallKenny F'ing Powers said:
When he comes back from vacation we can all speculate about how rusty he'll be due to the long layoff.
McDonough's private life isn't much of a secret to people who live on the South Shore. He had issues with Sean McGrail (NESN Pres) dating back to the time when TV38 was broadcasting the over-the-air games and McDonough was cut back to Friday nights only. They had a pretty contentious relationship and McGrail wanted him out.
Perhaps the rumors about Sean's lifestyle plus the Florian Hall episode turned McGrail off. It was also telling that Tom Werner refused to support McDonough when NESN didn't pick up his option after the '04 season, yet fast forward to Remy's status regarding his son and Werner was front and center in his support.
There were also rumors that Red Sox ownership didn't take too kindly to Will McDonough's strong support of local guy Frank McCourt when the team was up for sale. Will wrote a column in the Globe in which he referred to John Henry as a carpetbagger. Looking back on the situation, Will was dead wrong on McCourt.
Sean has done pretty well professionally since his break-up with the Red Sox, but I'm sure he's still embittered by the way he left Boston. I miss him.
Perhaps the rumors about Sean's lifestyle plus the Florian Hall episode turned McGrail off. It was also telling that Tom Werner refused to support McDonough when NESN didn't pick up his option after the '04 season, yet fast forward to Remy's status regarding his son and Werner was front and center in his support.
There were also rumors that Red Sox ownership didn't take too kindly to Will McDonough's strong support of local guy Frank McCourt when the team was up for sale. Will wrote a column in the Globe in which he referred to John Henry as a carpetbagger. Looking back on the situation, Will was dead wrong on McCourt.
Sean has done pretty well professionally since his break-up with the Red Sox, but I'm sure he's still embittered by the way he left Boston. I miss him.
Fixed the original post -- but that's a great post and I completely agree.mabrowndog said:
I think when you look at this position you need to consider VORA -- the value over a replacement announcer. Jerry has proven that his VORA isn't as high as the scouts think – Eck, Rob Bradford and even Derek Lowe have filled in admirably. Particularly given the complexity of the Boston market—the intensity of the fanbase, the media environment, etc.—Don is really off the charts precisely because he is so consistent in these conditions.
Is there any word about who Orsillo's replacement will be during the vacation? Tom Caron, perhaps?
Caron does well calling hockey games live when it comes to technique, but his higher-pitched voice can grate on listeners after awhile. Studio set work, where he can bounce the ping pong balls back & forth with panelists rather than doing most of the heavy lifting, is perfect for both him and the audience.
It'd be great to have a fresh viewpoint on Sox games. I like Orsillo and Remy well enough. I watch a lot of MLB.TV and I still think Remy and Orsillo are in the top third of the league, but change is always good.
If anyone had to go, I'd defintely vote Remy. I'd love to have a younger color commentator in the booth, who can more closely relate to the players on the field rather than someone who last played 1984. If you're Jim Palmer or Bert Blyleven and you were one of the best of all time at your position, your opinion is timeless. Not sure we can say the same about Remy.
If anyone had to go, I'd defintely vote Remy. I'd love to have a younger color commentator in the booth, who can more closely relate to the players on the field rather than someone who last played 1984. If you're Jim Palmer or Bert Blyleven and you were one of the best of all time at your position, your opinion is timeless. Not sure we can say the same about Remy.
Jon Rish won't be too bad.
Hopefully DO can get a well paying national gig. There is a way for everyone to win here.
Hopefully DO can get a well paying national gig. There is a way for everyone to win here.
I don't disagree with you about Remy going but, Change is always good and if you're an all time great your opinion is more valid? Really?Paradigm said:
Joe Morgan and Magic Johnson like your post.
Just because there are worse announcers than Orsillo among the 30 teams doesn't mean that we have to accept him. He was absolutely terrible when he started and by dint of herculean effort he's worked himself up to nondescript. The Red Sox franchise with all that goes with it ought to have a top 3 or 4 in MLB play by play guy, someone who's sharp, has a very good voice or better and knows the game well enough that he anticipates things happening. Don's not that guy. He seems like he's probably a nice guy and I'm glad if he can get another job easily. I hope so. But I hope the Sox put the time, effort and money into getting a top notch guy who will bring value to the broadcast. I realize that part of this is competing against other teams and the networks for these guys and getting them when their contracts are up. As just one example, Matt Vasgersian at MLB network left the Diamondbacks a couple years back. He's one of the play by play guys better than Orsillo but maybe he wanted to be a network guy and now he's locked up anyway. You have to time these things right, too.
bet NESN goes cheap and slides Jack Edwards over from Bruins, moves Dale to Bruins PBP and Leah Hextall to Bruins pre and post game...cheaper to hire young blood for NESN daily, right?
the1andonly3003 said:
With Dale back to full time at EEI, I don't see him going back to PBP on anything but a part-time/fill-in basis. He lost the Bruins gig in the first place because he wouldn't do it full time. Doubt things have changed all that much for him.
If they replace Orsillo, they're going to do it with someone younger, not older.
well, which situation would he rather be in? WEEI's sinking ship...or NESN's whatever you want to call it?Red(s)HawksFan said:
the1andonly3003 said:
Probably the gig that doesn't require him to live out a suitcase half the year, like the one(s) he has now.
I guess pairing Jon Rish and Lyons (road)/Eck (as many home games as he wants) would fit the cheap route for NESN
I am rooting for Orsillo to get paid!
I am rooting for Orsillo to get paid!
Rish is painful. He speaks in that weird, nasally monotone without a hint of enjoyment or artistry or conversation ever making it through.the1andonly3003 said:
Orsillo is *much* better than Rish.
Rough Carrigan said:
Couldn't agree more---he's a solid PBP guy as they go, and nothing more. He's not an embarrasing homer as a PBP guy like Yanks and Braves have (which is a point in his favor) but he also doesn't have anywhere near the knowledge of baseball history or strategy that the best PBP guys have (McDonough being one example). I think we should aspire to a top-5 guy, not a mediocrity.
Foulkey Reese said:
Eh, I can see a pretty good argument for not doing so. Beyond the confidence of his colleague, without being sure about the validity of the rumors, posting them on the internet is a bit irresponsible.
PedroKsBambino said:
My issue is that if Orsillo believes he's underpaid, the Sox are known as cheap and don't want to pay, how are we going to get anyone better on the broadcast unless the Sox up the pay.
From Chad's comments it sounds like it's not market competitive. We're most likely going to get someone cheaper and worse. We will be wishing for Don to be back and be back big.
I'm kind of between those who want Orsillo back and believe the Sox could do better. Don is def. not in the Curt Gowdy/Ken Coleman league of play-by-play guys the Sox have had – or Fred Cusick or Johnny Most if you want to compare to other sports (or even Mike Gorman). There's nothing irreplaceable or distinctive about him.
What Don is is flexible – it's precisely his lack of personality that allows the network to match him up with whatever kind of color personality they want, whether it's Remy, Eck, etc.
To the extent they should want him back, it's because he can work with any of them – and it gives them the ability to bring in whichever color guy they want.
What Don is is flexible – it's precisely his lack of personality that allows the network to match him up with whatever kind of color personality they want, whether it's Remy, Eck, etc.
To the extent they should want him back, it's because he can work with any of them – and it gives them the ability to bring in whichever color guy they want.
That's a fair point.Van Everyman said:
I think a lot of other teams' play by play guys would be stunned at working with Eckersley.
Eck: "This guy's terrible. He's got nothin' on the ball. I'll be surprised if he lasts 3 innings."
PBP guy: Uh . . . . . . . . . . . . would you like to draw a circle around a fan we show on screen?
Don's a very traditional straight man. He knows how to feed the talent and he knows that he's not the show. I'm actually a big fan.
I would be very disappointed if he was replaced. Jerry needs to go, and soon, and I think Don is the rock that gets the station through it.
I would be very disappointed if he was replaced. Jerry needs to go, and soon, and I think Don is the rock that gets the station through it.