Don will get the "parting gift" if he is a team player the rest of the way. I'm sure he wants to finish out the season as well and strong. He is in fact auditioning for his next gig. How he handles himself in this difficult situation is being watched. DO is a consummate pro. It's the nature of the business. Very few announcers stay with one team for a career anymore. It's like the players themselves. Some leave on their own as a FA which Don theoretically is. His contract is just not being renewed.
Report: This is Don Orsillo's last season
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As much as I enjoyed having Orsillo here...
Anyone thinking this is some traumatic thing that people are going to be up-in-arms about, I have to wonder how much they know/remember about the pre-Orsillo years.
Sean was tossed about in the wind a whole bunch. With the OTA games switching stations a number of times, more and more games being switched over to NESN, etc.
When it came time that Sean was let go, I distinctly remember Jerry speaking out strongly opposed to it. IIRC, it was in a game that went to a commercial break soon after, and he pretty much dropped it after the break, so he had probably gotten a harsh talking-to telling him to knock it off during the break.
And the first season or two with Orsillo often felt awkward, as Remy seemed to take offense with/take issue with a number of things that Don did and said (some rightly so. I recall Don saying at some point about someone that he [Don] could hit for a higher average than the player).
It was definitely a bumpy couple of years getting settled in, after a rather rocky breakup with Sean.
While I did like Don, and I will miss him, Red Sox broadcasting has definitely gone through more dramatic changes than this in the past, and yet we still all love to watch.
Agreed on all of this.RIFan said:
Anyone thinking this is some traumatic thing that people are going to be up-in-arms about, I have to wonder how much they know/remember about the pre-Orsillo years.
Sean was tossed about in the wind a whole bunch. With the OTA games switching stations a number of times, more and more games being switched over to NESN, etc.
When it came time that Sean was let go, I distinctly remember Jerry speaking out strongly opposed to it. IIRC, it was in a game that went to a commercial break soon after, and he pretty much dropped it after the break, so he had probably gotten a harsh talking-to telling him to knock it off during the break.
And the first season or two with Orsillo often felt awkward, as Remy seemed to take offense with/take issue with a number of things that Don did and said (some rightly so. I recall Don saying at some point about someone that he [Don] could hit for a higher average than the player).
It was definitely a bumpy couple of years getting settled in, after a rather rocky breakup with Sean.
While I did like Don, and I will miss him, Red Sox broadcasting has definitely gone through more dramatic changes than this in the past, and yet we still all love to watch.
Remy reminds me of Detective Sipowicz a bit in how long it takes him to warm up to a new partner. He could barely fake it with Maurer, and seemed uncomfortable in spring training with those dual broadcast Pirates games. At least this time around he'll obviously know O'Brien.
As for all of the above, that's how I remember it as well with the McDonough fall out, and agree that he was the one of the best, (my favorite anyhow) Boston sportscasters. Say what you will about Harrington's run, but he didn't seem to give a shit about Sean calling out management for a shitty product. That all changed once Lucky came over.
It's not that it's a traumatic thing so much as the fact that they have really found their stride again this year and are as entertaining as they've ever been. I disagree that there are all that many other announcer duos better - maybe 4 or 5 from listening to Extra Innings broadcasts.
O'Brien is fine. He calls a good game. He has a better grasp of the English language, He's also occasionally critical of players on WEEI (which may not play for NESN telecasts). I just don't find him interesting or all that entertaining. People who don't want any silliness will get their wish.
As for all of the above, that's how I remember it as well with the McDonough fall out, and agree that he was the one of the best, (my favorite anyhow) Boston sportscasters. Say what you will about Harrington's run, but he didn't seem to give a shit about Sean calling out management for a shitty product. That all changed once Lucky came over.
It's not that it's a traumatic thing so much as the fact that they have really found their stride again this year and are as entertaining as they've ever been. I disagree that there are all that many other announcer duos better - maybe 4 or 5 from listening to Extra Innings broadcasts.
O'Brien is fine. He calls a good game. He has a better grasp of the English language, He's also occasionally critical of players on WEEI (which may not play for NESN telecasts). I just don't find him interesting or all that entertaining. People who don't want any silliness will get their wish.
Michael Silverman @MikeSilvermanBB 40m40 minutes ago
Remy, with deep emotion, speaks about Orsillo: "been absolutely fabulous to work with. I love him.”
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 40m40 minutes ago
A very emotional Jerry Remy praised his partner Don Orsillo said he was at the "top of the list”
Michael Silverman @MikeSilvermanBB 37m37 minutes ago
Remy said he became very close friends with Orsillo. He's experienced much turnover at NESN. "It's never easy. You get close to people.”
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 12m12 minutes ago
Remy: “It’s been awfully difficult on [Orsillo], it really has. It’s been difficult on everybody.’'
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 10m10 minutes ago
More Remy: "You get used to somebody...you work together for such a long time, you have such a good time doing your job, [and] it’s over.''
Remy, with deep emotion, speaks about Orsillo: "been absolutely fabulous to work with. I love him.”
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 40m40 minutes ago
A very emotional Jerry Remy praised his partner Don Orsillo said he was at the "top of the list”
Michael Silverman @MikeSilvermanBB 37m37 minutes ago
Remy said he became very close friends with Orsillo. He's experienced much turnover at NESN. "It's never easy. You get close to people.”
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 12m12 minutes ago
Remy: “It’s been awfully difficult on [Orsillo], it really has. It’s been difficult on everybody.’'
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 10m10 minutes ago
More Remy: "You get used to somebody...you work together for such a long time, you have such a good time doing your job, [and] it’s over.''
RIFan said:
If memory serves, at the time he was let go, McDonough was starting to make a name for himself nationally and there was a clear reason for management to have an issue with his overly-frank criticism of the team. While Orsillo may turn into a national baseball voice, his career isn't plainly on the trajectory McDonough's was. He also seemingly played ball with management. What rankles me is this seems like a pointless change, whereas with McDonough, while you didn't have to like it, there was at least seemingly some logic behind the decision.
You nailed it. McDonough was great and people wanted him to stay too. But there were legit reasons for him leaving. I worked at CBS Sports with McDonough and although I didn't know him, I had friends who did. By the time he left NESN he wanted out and (maybe rightfully) felt anything that wasn't a national broadcast was a step down. This feels totally different.nattysez said:
terrisus said:
Maybe, but I think this will lead to some people watching fewer games. Or at least not watching them as long.
It's not that Orsillo is the best announcer on Earth, but he's got a lot more going for him by comparison to others.
I live in DC. The announcers for the Nationals are about as colorless as the arctic. We also get the Orioles games and Gary Thorne has a gift for finding new ways to be agitating. When the Red Sox play a national game, I usually turn off the audio.
With these guys, it's not that hard to turn off a game halfway through. With the Red Sox, I have no problem sitting through until the end.
Like many here I think DO is very good at what he does and easily in the top tier of MLB play by play guys. I think anyone who has subscribed to the MLB Extra Innings package and has had the chance to watch the broadcast of other teams would agree. Will viewership go down because of this? IMO it's not likely, especially if he's replaced by Dave O'Brien. Even if he's replaced by someone not nearly as good, people will watch if the team is watchable.
Orsillo's value in the market went up tremendously last night. Any prospective employers that tuned in would have to be impressed with the level of professionalism and his ability to call the game without a hint of what went down. On top of that the normally brutal twitterverse is coming up nearly universal in singing his praises.
Change for change sake is overrated.
Sounds like someone at NESN wanted to swing some dick.
Dick.
IMO DO was pretty good, called a good game and seemed like a real good guy. His chemistry with Remy (who i can imagine can be a PItA) was very good, they had a nice partnership that mostly worked. And the fall-out/next step will be an interesting development.
fwiw i was more upset when Ned got heave-hoed on radio.
Sounds like someone at NESN wanted to swing some dick.
Dick.
IMO DO was pretty good, called a good game and seemed like a real good guy. His chemistry with Remy (who i can imagine can be a PItA) was very good, they had a nice partnership that mostly worked. And the fall-out/next step will be an interesting development.
fwiw i was more upset when Ned got heave-hoed on radio.
Anyone who thinks that fans will stop watching Red Sox broadcasts on NESN because of an announcer change is misguided. If Dave Dombrowski signs a couple of high-profile free agents and the kids blossom into stars and lead the way back to playoff contention, people will watch. NESN absolutely could have handled this better, but a certain segement of the fanbase was going to be upset no matter how it was handled.
Also, I'm not sure it was the smartest move by Orsillo to let this leak (if the reports that he did so are true) and allowing his current employer to take a massive PR hit.
Also, I'm not sure it was the smartest move by Orsillo to let this leak (if the reports that he did so are true) and allowing his current employer to take a massive PR hit.
McDonough was already a known national announcer. He was CBS's lead MLB PBP guy as far back as '92. He also had done NFL games and CBB for the better part of the 90's. His career trajectory at that point was actually flat to probably declining as his national gigs were not as high profile in the early 2000's.nattysez said:
Your point stands that this is a far different situation. McDonough had taken flack for his criticizing the team and had several open salary battles over the years. Clearly, him moving on was a long time in the making and not a shock to anyone. Orsillo turned down TBS to stay with the Sox and can't be viewed as anything other than a company man. I highly doubt he was demanding top dollar and that O'Brien will make significantly less than him. This all seems like management muscle flexing. When the team turns around and ratings go up, I'm sure they'll smugly state that making the move was the right decision.
I thought McDonough's departure was related to the fact that he wanted the freedom to be away from the Sox to do some national work at the same time. Or maybe that was just the company line.
While I don't think it was the intent of the poster, this gives short shrift to anyone under the age of 25. "Traumatic" overstates it, but if you're of the era when *all* the games are on basic cable and you watch most of them, it *is* a big deal.
Agree. It is hard to watch the Sox when they are bad. What makes it easier is listening to Don and Remy/Eck. Like others have said it is like family, we are going through watching the Sox struggle together. I watch games I wouldn't otherwise because of Don. I for one don't like O'Brien. So if the Sox struggle again next year I will watch less games. If they do great next year I will probably watch games on mute while listening to music if I don't like the broadcast.techsoldaten said:
joe dokes said:
A number of factors went in to McDonough leaving. One he was outspoken (which new ownership didn't like), two made a lot of money, three his dad wanted someone else for the new ownership and was very outspoken about it and fourth balancing the national stuff.
Orsillo was/is a poor man's McDonough. Still a perplexing move by NESN, who would have thought Orsillo before Remy.
soxhop411 said:
Exactly. After 15 years of unremarkable announcing it was time for a change. The best thing I can say about Orsillo is that he was affable. After 15 years I can't remember any one call or insight he made during the greatest era of Red Sox baseball in the live ball era. Orsillo added nothing, yet his silliness with Remy detracted from the games. Instead of any great calls, what we remember most is when Orsillo got confused about the lunar eclipse and he and Remy giggled about it for 3 innings.
I've been watching and listening to Red Sox baseball since 1961. I remember televised games called by Curt Gowdy, Ned Martin, the under-rated Ken Coleman, Dick Stockton and Sean McDonough. They were all better than Don Orsillo. I can still hear some of their calls of great game moments in my head. And, for the most part, all of those announcers were not into histrionics and their calls were spontaneous and marvelously understated.
Orsillo was vanilla pudding -- the kind that's served in institutional cafeterias. Not all that good, but still a dessert. He has been the living embodiment of the lowest common denominator.
It's risky to make a change of announcers, because, inevitably, you're going to get a public outcry from those who had grown comfortable over time with having their vanilla pudding every summer night for 15 years. I applaud NESN for taking a risk and trying to improve on mediocrity.
joe dokes said:
He did on TBS, and when he wasn't forced to play straight-man to Remy he did a really excellent job. More assertive in control of the broadcast on TBS.
My first reaction when i read this line was "come on" but then as i thought about it the only one i could come up with wasWenZink said:
"Manny's back, and he's back big!"
joe dokes said:
Which is why I tried to stick to TV calls by announcers. They didn't call postseason games, either. Although through the mid-70s, the lead home-team announcer would act as the third man in the booth. (I think Stockton's call of Fisk's game 6 homer was on the radio.) But over 50 years later I remember Gowdy's call of Tony C's homer in his first Fenway at bat.
Orsillo got to call 4 no-nos, of which I heard the last 3. I can't remember his call during the game where Fisk "fed" his glove to ARod. Nothing. I can't remember his call of the summer night in 2003, when Billy Mueller hit TWO grand slams in Texas.
Does the "Manny's back and he's back big" citation refer to the game at the trade deadline in 2005, when he didn't start and was presumed traded, until he delivered a game winning single up the middle in the 9th? I don't remember the call -- too busy enjoying my vanilla pudding.
WenZink said:
No that would currently be Harold Reynolds, with Tim McCarver and/or Joe Morgan as LEoLCD emeritus.
Gowdy was an all time great from the golden era of announcers, no doubt about that. Martin did PBP for 31 years and McDonough for 16 years. Honest question, how many great calls do you recall from them?WenZink said:
I'm also assuming that you aren't on the DOB bandwagon, because he is just a slightly different flavor of vanilla.
DanoooME said:
Reynolds is annoying. Orsillo is not annoying, save for the Remsillo comedy bits. Again, no hard attacks vs Orsillo, but he has been decidedly mediocre, which, has been pointed out, is better than many in the profession. But geez, after 15 years of being "affable," isn't it time for a change? This is not the '60s where radio and tv revenue were a minute percentage of a team's revenues. There should be NO lifetime contracts.
And, yes, as noted, the Tek/ARod game was on Fox -- it was Saturday.
RIFan said:
Ned Martin had many great moments. It's hard to separate TV from Radio, since he was on both media -- and in the '60s the 35 or so games that were televised had Ned, Curt/Ken and the 3rd man rotating from TV to Radio. But I remember the Coleman/Martin calls of that last weekend in 1967 vs the Twins. Ned Martin was actually an excellent TV announcer in the 60s because he used few words to describe a great moment: "And Yaz lifts a deep, long drive, into the night.... Mercy."
McDonough is a tough one for any one memorable call, but I did enjoy his "edgy" comments in the first Manny years about the pros/cons of having such a productive, yet problematic player on a team. Once it was just Remsillo, they both just giggled at every one of Manny's clown moments.
I would venture most people on the board remember Martin for his later years, which were not strong. He clearly stayed 5 or 6 years too long. Before that, he was a HOF broadcaster. There was an eloquence about calling the game that was lost in the 80's with the rise of ESPN and everyone trying to get the loud sound bites. We should feel thankful that we didn't end up with a total clown show in the booth.WenZink said:
Orsillo gets a lot of flack over the Remsillo stuff, but make no mistake the last few years with McDonough was definitely the catalyst for the Remdawg persona which begat Remsillo. The bantering between Remy and McDonough and the switch in production values by NESN from all about the game to pizza throwing and boob grabs led to Remsillo.
No one should be claiming Orsillo is a HOF caliber announcer, but vanilla isn't the worst insult. There is a reason why vanilla is the most popular flavor.
One of the things that made Ned Martin great was that he didn't strive for "greatness." The question about memorable calls misses the point. Memorable calls aren't what make a great local baseball announcer. What does is a combination of knowledge (of the team and the game), companionship (do you like having the guy around) and, for lack of a better term, wearability. Ned simply didn't wear out his welcome. He never tried to inject more into the moment than what was in front of you, and that's a welcome trait over 162 games. Even Martin's signature moment -- the Rich Reese popup to Rico -- invited the listener in to share in the experience ".. and there's pandemonium on the field ... listen!" Nothing he could have said after that would have outshone the moment.
In general, I'm disappointed in the idea of getting local announcers who try to bring a national-game atmosphere to, say, a midweek midseason game against the Mariners. What made Orsillo and Remy work at their best was that they knew it was a long season and, sometimes, their silliness and exhaustion paid off.
No, this isn't a huge crisis. I think if most people stepped back for a moment, they'd admit they're probably more upset at the timing and manner of the decision than the actual change itself.
In general, I'm disappointed in the idea of getting local announcers who try to bring a national-game atmosphere to, say, a midweek midseason game against the Mariners. What made Orsillo and Remy work at their best was that they knew it was a long season and, sometimes, their silliness and exhaustion paid off.
No, this isn't a huge crisis. I think if most people stepped back for a moment, they'd admit they're probably more upset at the timing and manner of the decision than the actual change itself.
So you just sorta remember something that McDonough may or may not have said.
Despite saying this:
I'm not trying to play "Gotcha!" or prove that Orsillo was better than McDonough. My point is that the Red Sox announcers call about 120 games a year and most of them are around for 10+ years or more, so at the very least 1200 games. Eventually all of these games and calls are going to blend together. And it happens to Orsillo and it happened to McDonough and aside from the Impossible Dream clincher, I'm not sure if I can remember much of Martin's signature calls of great games. But I also started watching at the tail end of Martin's career.
I think that what makes TV play-by-play guys so good, especially for baseball teams, is that they have a habit of fading into the background. Baseball isn't like other sports where there's wall-to-wall action every second or it's an event that only happens 16 weeks out of the year. Baseball is an every day thing that begins in April and ends in September (for the local dudes) if you're trying to make a June Sox/Twins game sound exciting, then you're trying way too hard and you're not doing your job. In fact, I think that every person you listed would agree with that.
The thing is that if the Sox win a June game on a grand slam homer in the bottom of the ninth with two out and two strikes, yes, that's incredibly exciting and it's awesome. But the reality is, there's another game tomorrow. And one the day after that. And the day after that. Most of the biggest in-season wins gets forgotten.
WenZink said:
How could you forget the hall of famer Einar Diaz line?
At least I think that was Sean but I could be misremembering.
I grew up listening to Ernie Harwell on the Tigers radio broadcast for most of my childhood. When former U of Mich.football coach Bo Schembechler came on as team president of the Tigers he fired Ernie and he was on RADIO. The outcry was huge. I see similar sentiments being expressed.
http://archive.freep.com/article/20080122/COL01/80121056/MITCH-ALBOM-FLASHBACK-Tigers-fired-Ernie-Harwell-allowed-
http://archive.freep.com/article/20080122/COL01/80121056/MITCH-ALBOM-FLASHBACK-Tigers-fired-Ernie-Harwell-allowed-
WenZink said:
The giggling started with McDonough, way before Orsillo. Him and Remy would giggle for hours and even had screen graphics for when they started to as a warning. (Edit: just say URI's post)
The funniest thing of all of this is McDonough was pissed when they replaced him with DO since Sean thought he sounded like him, only without edge. He said something along the lines of "I turn on the Red Sox game and hear a blander version of myself calling the games, he sounds just like me"
Thanks for pointing this out. I don't feel the love so many here express for McDonough for precisely this reason. He was continually inciting Remy to be silly. Of course a lot of people like that, but some of us get tired of it. This year Remsillo concentrated more on baseball. Orsillo's being fired now mystifies me, since they were better than ever, in my opinion.RIFan said:
Thing is, Orsillo is a perfect TV play-by-play man. He anchors 155 (I guess) games a year and simply does his job with a great voice that blends perfectly into the background as you're watching action live.
The related issue concerns radio, where the current team is also a perfect combination for listening to the game while being distracted by other things (driving, napping, watching the babe in the bikini walk by...) partly because O'Brien has the perfect radio voice.
The good news is that O'Brien's voice will be fine on TV (as others have said - can you believe it when checking out many of the competitor's broadcast teams?) but there's bound to be a degrade in radio.
Things were good. The Red Sox had a first-rate team for TV and radio. Now this NESN guy wants to fuck it all up because he has a small penis. The executives should know that you can't bring someone from the upper midwest to a real market without courting disaster. I suspect this guy Maar came real cheap and has been trying to make a name since he got to Boston.
The related issue concerns radio, where the current team is also a perfect combination for listening to the game while being distracted by other things (driving, napping, watching the babe in the bikini walk by...) partly because O'Brien has the perfect radio voice.
The good news is that O'Brien's voice will be fine on TV (as others have said - can you believe it when checking out many of the competitor's broadcast teams?) but there's bound to be a degrade in radio.
Things were good. The Red Sox had a first-rate team for TV and radio. Now this NESN guy wants to fuck it all up because he has a small penis. The executives should know that you can't bring someone from the upper midwest to a real market without courting disaster. I suspect this guy Maar came real cheap and has been trying to make a name since he got to Boston.
