Report: This is Don Orsillo's last season

jmm57

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Next series with the Orioles, take a drink every time O'Brien tells us that Ryan Flaherty is from Maine.

(Hint: Seriously stock up on booze.)

I also thought OB was some fresh air - for about a week or so. Now I cannot stand him and listen to the radio feed. But Castig is also annoying in that he apparently never looks at his monitor during play so he's calling pitches at the letters "low" and pitches well inside or outside "right down the middle". Twice in a recent game, he called a pitch that bounced in front of the plate "high to Bogaerts". In a recent series, he mentioned two times over three innings - seemingly in all seriousness - a player hitting a "foul home run", like that was something to worry about. (I fear he is becoming Sterlingesque.)
I listen to a bunch of radio broadcasts too (on my commute), but Neverett is the one that bothers me. Of course, I am also listening without the picture so I don't see the obvious mistakes above from Castig.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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I've mentioned this in some game threads, but I'll consolidate some here.

1) DOB jinxes the living shit out of everything. No-hitters, shutouts, good road trips, you name it. Am I stupid enough to believe it matters? No, I'm not. But it's annoying. When an announcer plays it close to the vest, it's like "we're all in this together...no one say anything!"...it's part of the fun, part of feeling like you're part of the broadcast, in on the joke. DOB destroys that in a way I don't remember ever hearing from any other announcer (and I'm old).

2) DOB often uses awkward phrasing (e.g.; "Off the Green", "Bases filled Up", "pop" instead of "fly" and vice-versa) and mixes up known tropes like he's playing a game of Mad Libs (e.g.; "lasers a shot" or "hammers a drive"). I am especially attuned to shit like this, and it infuriates me (I recognize this doesn't necessarily reflect well on me, but fuck it).

3) "Swifty." Fucking die (figuratively)

4) DOB often uses statements without meaning: "The key to Buchholz' recent success is that he's been hard to hit"

5) DOB (or his producer?) is in love with streaks and statistical oddities like 20/20 seasons. He seems to have an agenda for each series and pounds the living shit out of it.

6) DOB cannot shut up about player struggles (or good streaks)...he seems very recency-bias driven, and it gets annoying.

I like DOB as a person from what I know of him, and have a shitload of respect for him as a father and human being, but I simply do not enjoy his work. At all. And I certainly don't think he compares favorably to Orsillo as a broadcast talent.

In closing, I would point out that when people say stuff like "well everyone bitched about Orsillo, too", they neglect that the giggle-fests were usually in games where we were getting pummeled (and people will bitch about anything in those circumstances).
This about sums it up for me, especially numbers 2 and 6. It's like he has a quota for number of different baseball slang terms he has to use per game whether they fit or not. And how many times did we hear that "Hanley is due for a home run, he hasn't homered in x at bats" earlier in the season?

My biggest issue is I feel like DOB never stops and lets the game speak for itself. He never seems to stop talking. Take a deep breath and let the game tell the story every once in a while. Not that Orsillo was exceptional at that either but I didn't find myself annoyed at him like I do with DOB. He's so irritating which is a shame because I thought he was great on the radio and at ESPN.
 

MakeMineMoxie

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Watching the Fox Sports San Diego feed really shows how bad NESN's coverage is. They have multiple, interesting camera shots from above & behind the plate, slow-motion break-downs of swings & wonder of wonders, they manage to keep the score box on every shot!

Orsillo still has some giggle-moments with Mark Grant but I think part of that comes from covering a team that's been in last place most of the year & it's just part of Don's personality.

No doubt, if DO was still on NESN, they'd be sucking the life out of him with the endless promos and (mostly) idiot booth visitors.

"Down by way of the K!" beats "Swifty" every day!
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Orsillo is reportedly going to be the presenter for Ortiz's retirement gift from the Padres tonight before the game. Should be interesting to see how NESN handles it. Will they carry it live or will they show highlights? Will they be petty enough to try to edit DO out as much as they can (assuming highlight route)?
 

the1andonly3003

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Watching the Fox Sports San Diego feed really shows how bad NESN's coverage is. They have multiple, interesting camera shots from above & behind the plate, slow-motion break-downs of swings & wonder of wonders, they manage to keep the score box on every shot!

Orsillo still has some giggle-moments with Mark Grant but I think part of that comes from covering a team that's been in last place most of the year & it's just part of Don's personality.

No doubt, if DO was still on NESN, they'd be sucking the life out of him with the endless promos and (mostly) idiot booth visitors.

"Down by way of the K!" beats "Swifty" every day!
"fakes to first, fakes to third. Doesn't throw to either venue."
 

Clears Cleaver

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Mlb.com has the five minute pregame ceremony in its entirety. Orsillo hosted and did a great job. The surf board was sweet, too
 

PaulinMyrBch

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Biggest thing for me is I felt like I knew Orsillo. His phrasing and the way he related stories made me feel like he was telling me something over a beer. I feel like everything OB does comes with planning and polish. Nothing seems to roll from the cuff. I get that you have to be prepared in this business, but when you're on air for 3+ hours it's Ok to let us behind the curtain.
 

Lupe Whalewatch

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Biggest thing for me is I felt like I knew Orsillo. His phrasing and the way he related stories made me feel like he was telling me something over a beer. I feel like everything OB does comes with planning and polish. Nothing seems to roll from the cuff. I get that you have to be prepared in this business, but when you're on air for 3+ hours it's Ok to let us behind the curtain.
I agree with this 100%, however, I'm not sure I would have said it after Orsillo's first season. He certainly grew into his role as time went on as he became more comfortable. His call for Nomo's no hitter comes to mind.
 

the1andonly3003

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Biggest thing for me is I felt like I knew Orsillo. His phrasing and the way he related stories made me feel like he was telling me something over a beer. I feel like everything OB does comes with planning and polish. Nothing seems to roll from the cuff. I get that you have to be prepared in this business, but when you're on air for 3+ hours it's Ok to let us behind the curtain.
in today's social media moment driven, viral nature of attention spans, how many social media moments has OB created? Orsillo seems to have created a ton in the limited games he has called. Would have thought this is something Tom Werner cares about.

not saying it adds to the quality of a broadcast from an announcing standpoint, but this stuff hits the pink hats and bandwagon fans that Werner and Co is making millions off
 

Marbleheader

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Jesus, people are still obsessed with Orsillo? This thread should have died months ago. It's over, get over it.
 

Al Zarilla

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On NESN, I heard OB twice say last night/today that the Red Sox have a game in hand WRT Toronto. WTF? Is he going for the hockey is Canada's main sport thing and trying to tie it into baseball? Game in hand. Knucklehead Lyons just sits there saying nothing. If we're to give up the Orsillo thing, start an O'Brien thread?
 

tims4wins

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On NESN, I heard OB twice say last night/today that the Red Sox have a game in hand WRT Toronto. WTF? Is he going for the hockey is Canada's main sport thing and trying to tie it into baseball? Game in hand. Knucklehead Lyons just sits there saying nothing. If we're to give up the Orsillo thing, start an O'Brien thread?
If so, that is awful.
 

PaulinMyrBch

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Jesus, people are still obsessed with Orsillo? This thread should have died months ago. It's over, get over it.
The thread is alive because OB continues to call games in a very boring and mundane manner. Most of us were giving him a long leash, so showing up every few months to bitch about how he hasn't evolved is within the bounds of this thread. If you want to get over the thread, knock yourself out, but don't expect everyone to follow you out the door.
 

Montana Fan

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PiMB, I mostly listen to the games on radio but when I watch them the commentary at least seems to be related to what's going on in the game. I've noticed a lot less inane babble coming from the booth than there was in the past. Are you not seeing/hearing that?
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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The thread is alive because OB continues to call games in a very boring and mundane manner. Most of us were giving him a long leash, so showing up every few months to bitch about how he hasn't evolved is within the bounds of this thread. If you want to get over the thread, knock yourself out, but don't expect everyone to follow you out the door.
We heard these exact complaints about Orsillo when he took over the job all those years ago. He grew into the role. I'm positive OB will do the same.
 

shawnrbu

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Orsillo took over for Bob Kurtz in 2001. McDonough called Friday night games through 2004. I think there is a huge difference in experience comparing 01 Orsillo to 16 O'Brien. I doubt O'Brien's style is going to change very much.
 

mauidano

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We heard these exact complaints about Orsillo when he took over the job all those years ago. He grew into the role. I'm positive OB will do the same.
He's a very good broadcaster and had been great on WEEI as well as ESPN basketball and baseball. He follows some popular medium size shoes from Orsillo and hasn't quite risen to the level expected over the course of a long season. He's a really nice guy, I've spent some time talking with him before. I hope he settles in. The pairing with Lyons definitely brings him down a couple notches but that's not necessarily on him. Vin Scully at 100 years old in all likelihood would choke Steve Lyons out on air.
 

YTF

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I agree with the comment about pairing him with Lyons. When you work as a team you feed of each other's give and take and Lyon's isn't doing a whole lot of quality giving. Considering that he's working with three different partners, he's done OK. Not great, but OK. The play by play part should be consistent no matter who he's partnered with but the other part of the job is the interaction with the color guy.
 

Number45forever

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I'm not the biggest DOB fan but the biggest thing I've hated this year is the rotating cast of analysts. Remy has been so good this year, I think. I just get depressed at the start of every game where I hear Steve Lyons' voice. Really hope next year they go 120 games of Remy and the rest with Eck. Something like that. Lyons is so terrible.
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

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I'm not the biggest DOB fan but the biggest thing I've hated this year is the rotating cast of analysts. Remy has been so good this year, I think. I just get depressed at the start of every game where I hear Steve Lyons' voice. Really hope next year they go 120 games of Remy and the rest with Eck. Something like that. Lyons is so terrible.
Eck doesn't want to travel, which is a shame. Lyons is awful. Really wish they'd gotten McDonough, but that ship has sailed. They have to find someone to take Lyons' slot. He and DOB are terrible together.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Remember when people would bitch and moan every day about the Remsillo giggle fests? The counter to that was always that it could be way worse. Well, here we are.

From the moment they hired Lyons a couple years ago, it was obvious that he was the guy they saw as Remy's heir apparent. Clearly that plan is still in effect. Count on more Lyons next year, not less.
 

cromulence

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This is apparently a thing Fox is doing. There was a national Yankees-Rays game on FS1 a few weeks ago announced by Kay and Singleton (of course they picked the worst duo that YES has). It makes sense, really - the local crews are already there for the game and they can obviously handle the job, so why fly in a Fox crew for one random game?
 

the1andonly3003

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This is apparently a thing Fox is doing. There was a national Yankees-Rays game on FS1 a few weeks ago announced by Kay and Singleton (of course they picked the worst duo that YES has). It makes sense, really - the local crews are already there for the game and they can obviously handle the job, so why fly in a Fox crew for one random game?
didn't Fox used to pair local color guys (remember Remy did a lot of Fox Saturday Red Sox games) w/ their national PBP guys (Stockton, Brenneman, etc) on their B games (non-Buck/McCarver)?

most of the FS1 games I had watched were west coast games (Angels, DBacks) that used local Fox Sports feeds.
 

cromulence

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didn't Fox used to pair local color guys (remember Remy did a lot of Fox Saturday Red Sox games) w/ their national PBP guys (Stockton, Brenneman, etc) on their B games (non-Buck/McCarver)?

most of the FS1 games I had watched were west coast games (Angels, DBacks) that used local Fox Sports feeds.
That sounds right, but I don't recall seeing them use local PBP guys until this year.
 

Granite Sox

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DOB, Remy, et al coming in behind Dwayne Staats and Buck Martinez is brutal. Unsurprising, but still brutal.

Then I threw up in my mouth when I saw Thorne and Palmer at #6.
 

grimshaw

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DOB, Remy, et al coming in behind Dwayne Staats and Buck Martinez is brutal. Unsurprising, but still brutal.

Then I threw up in my mouth when I saw Thorne and Palmer at #6.
I did get the impression of quite a few trolls voting in those polls, due to the demographics for that site but would guess our guys would be middle to bottom third based on SOSH readers.

Palmer and Staats are are well thought of in their markets hate them or not.

The fangraphs poll - which is a more thoughtful readership - since the average fan has no idea of that site's existence, does an annual crowdsourcing one that I put more stock in.
Here is 2016's http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/category/2016-broadcaster-rankings/
 

Sampo Gida

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I dont disagree with that ranking. I have yet to watch a full game on the NESN feed this year and watch most of the game on the other teams feed. Even Eck is hard to take with DOB. I was never much of a fan of the Orsillo-Remy giggle fest but those days are looking good to me now. To be fair to DOB, Red Sox/NESN need to find him a partner who has played in this era who can add more insite and is up to date with the new metrics. Catchers seem to make the best analysts but even pitchers like Cone who are up to speed do a good job.
 

Buffalo Head

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Since Monday, Brad Hand is the closer for the Padres. He got a save tonight. Don's call of the final out?

"TALK TO THE HAND!!!"