NESN is "moving on" from Red Sox play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo, who will not return for the '16 season, according to WEEI-FM's Gerry Callahan. Orsillo has been with the Red Sox for 15 years, and Callahan said he and analyst Jerry Remy "have good chemistry and they can make a boring game a little more interesting.” He said NESN execs apparently “does not want empty entertainment," but instead want "company men." Callahan: "They don’t want any opinion, they don’t want any edge, they don’t want any entertainment. … They want vanilla, but I think Orsillo is good.” CSN New England's Gary Tanguay said Orsillo being forced out “makes no sense." Tanguay: "When the ratings aren’t good for the Red Sox, the announcers take heat. Orsillo and Remy get blamed, which is insane.” He added, "The reality is if your team is good, you watch! That’s the bottom line. Even though the Red Sox suck, they still get decent ratings” (“The Dennis & Callahan Morning Show,” WEEI-FM, 8/25). The LOWELL SUN notes there was "no word on the status of Remy, the long-time and hugely-popular color commentator." Josh Maurer "filled in for Orsillo for seven games when NESN implemented an in-season break for its broadcasters in July," but it is unknown whether Maurer "is a top candidate to replace Orsillo" (LOWELLSUN.com, 8/25). Grantland's Bill Barnwell wrote on Twitter, "Don Orsillo is phenomenal. Was one of the best parts about watching the Red Sox over the past 15 years. Deserves a national gig." HBO's Bill Simmons: "The Red Sox had run out of ways to confuse their fans these past 18 months, so they decided, 'Let's get rid of Don Orsillo'" (TWITTER.com, 8/25).
AN UNEXPECTED TWIST: MASSLIVE.com's Nick O'Malley writes Orsillo's departure "comes as a shock to cap off a roller coaster season for the Red Sox." The team has had a "bizarre onfield product as well as some major upheaval in the front office." O'Malley: "Seeing the craziness of the season extend to the broadcast booth, though, was not expected" (MASSLIVE.com, 8/25). In Boston, Steve Silva writes fans "knew there would be plenty of changes for the Red Sox heading into 2016, but few anticipated that a major change would be coming to the television broadcast booth." Orsillo has been a "longtime fan favorite since moving up to the major league broadcasts in 2001." He also have served as a "voice on the national stage, working on TBS's MLB postseason division series broadcasts since 2007" (BOSTON.com, 8/25).
