Don Orsillo takes some massive shots at Red Sox ownership over his termination by the team.
IMAGEI don’t want DOB, damnit! I’m a Dapper Don man!
I can special order it be here in about 2 weeks.
Well isn’t that a geographical oddity?! 2 weeks away from everything!
Well, I didn’t think this was a one horse town, but try and get a decent hair jelly.
Nicely done. The booth could have and should have been Eck and Don!
DOB sucks compared to Don
Watch your language young fella this is a public thread
Well constructed reference there, my man
Blessed to have Don and Mud. Sorry your owners fucked it up with Don (I’m a Liverpool fan so I know FSG intimately) — their partnership in the booth has made being a Padres fan so much better. With them, it’s actually nice watching a team that has never achieved true success.
Fuck John Henry and fuck Tom Warner.
Say it again. Keep saying it. They fucked Don, who was a beloved fixture in the booth. So few of them have personality, and Don still has it, in spades. Miss you Don, and I love switching over to Padres games after the Sox games, just to hear ya voice, buddy.
At least we have DOB and his sparking personality. Sometimes he even remembers to raise his voice when exciting stuff happens!
Exactly
Miss you Don, and I love switching over to Padres games after the Sox games, just to hear ya voice, buddy.
Literally the reason the Padres became my second team.
I miss those giggle fits.
Don’t forget about Linda Pizzuti Henry. Heard she was really influential in that decision as their “media expert” partner. Don liked a few tweets of mine where I tagged him, JWH & LPH with my jabs about those two hating people who have fun at their job and such.
I've never personally interacted with Linda, but her public appearances lead me to believe that she takes herself and everything too seriously. It's no surprise that Don's humor wouldn't mesh with her.
Dave absolutely seems like the style of guy she and John would prefer. Not to put words in her mouth, but Don is too much like a fan she wouldn’t ever want to watch the game with at a sports bar she’d never attend. Everything about him we loved they found unprofessional.
With people like that, the humanity of humor is literally threatening. It exposes their own limits and failures and threatens the perspective that centers them in the world.
Some people lack the humor gene.
If she has led the the hiring of Dave O'Brien and the firing of Don Orsillo she should be tried for treason.
O’Brien is like the aftermarket version of Orsillo. The worst.
Checking in from the land of the Padres. Tom Warner fucked us in the 90s. I feel ya.
I can promise you. We adore Don over here. The fans here will make sure he is loved. Sorry that shit bag had to ruin that for you.
Tom Werner*
You know, the guy from the Cosby show.
Noted Cosby accomplice Tom Werner
Tom Werner, the same guy that bought the Padres, brought in Rosanne to sing the National Anthem, then proceeded to sell off almost the entire team in 1993?
Yeah, the same shit stain
…and LeBron James
Friendly reminder ownership blamed Orsillo and Remy for lower ratings instead of the dog shit 2014 and 2015 teams they built.
the dog shit 2014 and 2015 teams they built.
Don Orsillo, Jerry Remy, and my friends Jim Beam and Jack Daniels got me through those days.
It didn't even matter if the teams sucked. Don and Jerry knew how to have fun. Now any time the Red Sox are losing or hitting home runs Dave O'Brien just sounds like he doesn't like his job, and he doesn't like making the broadcasts fun for viewers.
Don and Jerry were the only reasons to watch!
Yup, couldn't possibly be that lazy asshole Pablo Sandoval
As if anyone could have bought into that bullshit. They can say it all they want, doesn’t make it true. Hell they probably increased ratings! I know I don’t tune in as often with both gone.
Fucking insanity. For me personally it’s never been the same since don left.
What a farce.
Wait, for real?
What is their excuse now?
Lol they were probably why a lot of people watched!
Don’t pull no punches Don
God I miss those guys
Tito with the head games...
On a happy note, I watched the " Here Comes the Pizza" game replay on Nesn today.
Top 3 Boston broadcasting moments. P
LA LUNA!
He has every right to feel that way as many do about the situation. Forever love Don and wish the best for him. Hope San Diego does well strictly for Don and X.
As someone who was born and raised in San Diego by parents who were from Massachusetts, I consider myself incredibly lucky to continue getting to root for Don and Xander. This past weekend had me a bit torn tho hahah
coleman and leitner could call games and keep you interested in bad teams. orsillo lightens the blow of good teams underperforming with his jovial nature.
Don and Mud have so much chemistry. They're legit mine and my wife's favorite part of any Padres' broadcast.
💯% Years from now we’ll look back on this and ‘hopefully’ realize how good we have it.
If it makes you feel any better, we love Don in SD too and as fans we will continue to take care of him. ❤️
We’ve already pledged to visit “Dontangelos” when it opens 😂
I’m a born and raised SD fan and I can assure you we absolutely love him here
I don’t blame him. We’ll always have love for Don.
Rightfully so. Sox Nation still loves you Don! Not only did they do you dirty, they did the late Great Jerry Remy dirty by firing his longtime buddy. John Henry can eat shit, if he hasn’t already
I will never not be upset about how the Red Sox fired Don Orsillo.
It was a cowardly act to blame the announcer (who was universally loved by the fans) for low TV ratings when the team stunk to high heaven.
universally loved by fans, and also consistently regarded as a top 3-5 pbp guy in the sport. insane.
No disrespect to DOB, but he is fucking boring. Don and Jerry always had something to provide to the fans during boring ass games, or blowouts. They always found a way to entertain. The fact that he was not allowed to be at Remy's final game was a tragedy.
Both having Orsillo involved in the tribute to Remy was criminal
He deserves every ounce of disrespect. He stole Dom Orsillo's job, whoch he doesn't even seem to like. He could have locked into the radio, but the Red Sox somehow didn't want to lose him to his passion of women's college basketball, so he waltzed in to interview for Don's job behind his back and when he learned Don wasn't choosing to leave he doubled down.
We could also talk about how O'Brien wasn't invited to Remy's closed funeral and Don was a required guest.
How do you know this? Not arguing, just curious how this is known?
that doesn't say anything lol
I still cannot believe that the official reason they moved on from Orsillo is because they “didn’t want to lose Dave O’Brien”. Like, not even some fake story about doing blow in the booth, or drinking heavily on the team plane, or having a secret relationship with a clubhouse staff member. Just, they didn’t want the radio play by play guy to leave, so they offered him the TV gig instead.
God forbid the radio play by play guy who doesn't seem to like baseball as much as he likes women's college basketball leave to cast a few women's college basketball games in the winter.
Are you saying that’s the rumor mill with O’Brien ?
So, I can’t find it now, but when O’Brien wasn’t renewed by WEEI, NESN (and the Sox own 80% of NESN) made the statement that they didn’t want to lose O’Brien from the Red Sox family, which is why they hired him for TV and fired Orsillo.
It’s crazy how universally loved this guy still is in Boston. John Henry and Tom Warner should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for replacing him with Dave “I am the most boring announcer in sports” O’Brien.
Padres fan incoming prepared for immediate downvote but hear me out, maybe it was just me but there was a noticeable difference in his excitement levels of our home runs at Fenway than any other park. You can hear how much he cares about the city and the team in his voice still. He seems to be living his best life at the moment so I’m happy for him, but it really is obvious how much he loved his job as the Sox announcer and how much the area means to him. He’s doing well but misses all of you, Duran is hungry like the wolf, I’m out.
I absolutely love his honesty here. Many people in that situation would try and be diplomatic about it, and he doesn't have time for that nonsense. Worst mistake they ever made.
Well….maybe not the WORST mistake……
Why do all of our worst mistakes end up in Southern California?
That kid’s name was Alex Petricone! And the guy he invented was Moe Greene!
I would put it above Mookie and below Babe Ruth honestly haha. The Mookie trade is at least defensible. It was dumb, but he was going to hit Free Agency. They knew they were cheap and wouldn't compete with other teams. So at least they made a trade. We can talk all day about how fucked ownership is for not putting forth a real effort to work with him.
But with Don, it just made no fucking sense. He is the voice of the team. The fans loved him. The players loved him. Widely respected and considered amazing at his job on the national market. And they made up some stupid goddamn excuse.
The funniest part was maybe like a year or two ago now John Henry was surprised fans were still pissed. What an asshole.
I actually think letting Don go is worse than trading Mookie. Obviously, yes, not a great trade. But Mookie was only ever going to be around another ten or so years, Don could've been here decades. And you could at least guess that Mookie would've declined (though it didn't exactly work out that way), but Don was going to be Don forever. This is THE biggest blunder of the Henry era.
dude grew up in New England, die hard sox fan. to this day, he’s a top three play-by-play announcer in the sport of baseball. He’s got a great personality, and it’s not just rose colored glasses of the days he was with Remy. Even on the Padres game, he’s great.
Fuck John Henry. Fuck Tom Werner. Fuck Dave O’Brien. And Fuck NESN.
We love you announcer boy!
massive - and richly deserved - shots
All so we wouldn't "lose" a vastly inferior Dave O'Brien
The decision to go with OB makes even less sense when you realize that OB is 5 years older than Don. This wasn't even kicking Don out for someone younger, it was kicking him out so you didn't lose the inferior side of your radio broadcast team. If OB wanted to walk, we should've let him. Sox broadcasting would not have missed a beat.
And let's be clear on something else - Don Orsillo was New England. He had our humor and he and Jerry were like two friends at the bar watching the game with you. OB may have grown up here but he may as well have been built in a factory in New York.
The decision to go with OB makes even less sense when you realize that OB is 5 years older than Don.
I guarantee it was to save a few bucks. Had nothing to do with age or talent or anything like that. They didn't want to pay Don, so they showed him the door before he could open it.
The Padres gave him a raise over what NESN was paying, and that's not exactly a big market.
Hell Orsillo graduated Northeastern under the tutelage of Joe Castig is I’m not mistaken. Huge loss.
Bummed for you guys, don is a favorite here in san diego, I can't imagine getting rid of such a great personality, seriously makes watching the game so much better.
I am happy he found such a good new home. We live in Oregon nowadays and follow the Padres as our west coast team. 90% of the reason is how fun it is to watch/listen to your broadcasts. Then Bogie came over and it sealed the deal.
Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo announced my childhood. They were as every part of the Red Sox as the players were. I haven't lived in New England in 8 years, but without Ortiz and Pedroia (who were the heart and soul of the Red Sox in my opinion) and Remy and Orsillo, the Sox just don't seem like the Sox anymore. Orsillo should have been kept on for life. Not only do the owners not care about having a team that's in contention, they don't care about entertaining their fans, or loyalty either. The decisions have just been stupid. You'll never convince me it was a good idea to trade Mookie Betts, just like it was never a good idea to trade the winning hilarious personality of Don Orsillo for what's that new guys name? .... I don't even know. Forget loyalty, just practically speaking it's stupid. I hope every Sox fan let's Orsillo know how they feel when they meet him. I know I will if I ever get the chance to someday. Thank you Don. We're literally still talking about you years later...
I am a Sox fan from Missouri. Don Orsillo and Remy are one of the big reasons I became a fan. Absolute shame what they did to him
Curious as to the dateline on this post. Recent?
Today
Thank you.
*edit- he still cares, like we all do. Ownership needs to step up or move on.
Amen Don. When they fired Don I stopped watching games. They just weren’t as fun anymore. I still follow the team enough to know if they won or not but don’t watch them anymore. I’m still pissed about him being fired. He’s amazing.
I held in there longer but it wasn’t the same. Eck kept me watching because he is so awesome. When Eck left for hood is when I stopped watching for good.
Can you imagine how banger of a booth Don and the Eck would’ve been?
how could they fire him after the hilarious pizza incident call
I’ve (Padres fan) never seen that! Fucking hilarious!
Go look up the “whoops” / “thought this was a family show” moment. It’s unreal
Nick Markakis takes strike one
I lose it every fucking time
Why on planet earth would you get rid of Don Orsillo unless he was asking for astronomical gfy money
They fired him ?
All this time I thought we had somehow stolen him from you guys.
Don and Mark Grant are a joy to listen too
“Thought this was a family show.”
Not anymore, Don ‘Announcer Boy’ Orsillo. Not anymore.
I'd be the same way, tell em Don!
That last line is so good. Fuck John Henry
They way they treated Tito soured me on the Sox.
They way they treated Don estranged me from them.
"The ratings are down because of the announcer, he's fired"
How about you field a team that doesn't finish in the fucking basement 3 out of 4 seasons and maybe the ratings wouldn't be slipping?
The fans here in San Diego adore him. And I'd feel the same as you do if the Padres ever did him like that.
He was the BEST announcer I've ever heard in my lifetime. Him and Jerry made watching even bad games fun.
I'm glad he's somewhere he's appreciated.
Padres fan , just came to see how you guys felt, don is one of the best sportscasters of all time its.such a pleasure listening to him, it's so under rated how much these guys bring to the table, it is entertainment above all and even when the padres were sucking I would tune in to hear our guys talking about the game.
Dave OBrien is a very professional announcer who would be great for so many teams. I think he's crazy boring of a baseball announcer, but he's still good overall. Can't take that for granted necessarily.
BUT Don Orsillo was perfect. What they did to him shall never be forgotten. Its been like 7 years and I think about it every single game. It's outrageous they didn't just let him go they freaking kicked him out. Such a good example of how disconnected the ownership has been from fans, at least over the last 10 years.
I'm with Orsillo on this one.
John Henry and Tom Werner can go pick their noses.
I love Don. Fuck John Henry.
How could you shitcan Donny after “here comes the pizza?” Fkn unreal…
He did this 9 years ago when they didn't resign him also. He went on a run of liking any post or tweet that hated on the team. This isn't a surprise. He was a great broadcaster and red Sox nation loved him. I think at this point everyone hates red Sox ownership.
Good. He’s entitled to still be pissed and to not take the high road.
All this just so they could lift up the most boring play by play announcer out there to take his spot. Fucking pathetic.
Right on, Don! You were beloved here by the majority of the people, but ownership held some petty grudges. Happy you were able to continue your successful career and you’ll always be a favorite of mine.
Totally understandable. With absolutely zero exaggeration or hyperbole, I lost a piece of my joy in rooting for the Sox the day Orsillo was fired. Eck helped , but I really struggle with Dave O'Brien. I pretty much try my best to sync the weei radio feed every time I watch.
People who defend Dave O’Brien but love Don are hypocrites. Don has alluded to the fact DOB snaked him.
Padres fan here. Not sure what the reason was for you guys letting Don go but your loss sure has been our gain. Don and Mud entertain us on a nightly basis. I understand Orsillo lives on Coronado, owns a restaurant, and fishes on the reg. From an outsider’s perspective he appears happy now however I’m sure he’ll always miss his New England roots.
Completely justified and he is still loved
Padres have been the regional game on the mlb network a few times recently and even tho that makes no sense it was great to hear Don calling games
DON 4 LIFE
I’m with Don
Really messed up what they did to Don. As a Padres fan, I'm so glad we got him. He's one of my favorite people. Him and Mark Grant are the best duo in sports broadcasting, though I might be biased. I tried listening to other broadcasts but they just don't hit the same. Don, Mark, and the guys in Inside the NBA are my favorite sports peeps.
As a Padres fan it’s amazing seeing the love and respect yall still have for Don 🤝
Even when I've been at my most bitter and cynical with this ownership group over the last few dull and directionless seasons, nothing they've done with the product on the field has irked me half as much as what they did to Don.
I love this guy like peanut butter loves jelly. Like beans love rice. Like a frog loves a pond. Like a frame loves a painting. Like a frond loves a palm.
Ok, that sounds excessive. He 😎
I loved Don, and when they replaced him that was the beginning of the end of my rabid watching. Still a casual, used to be a die hard. OBrien just didn’t do it for me.
Who ever that exec was probably realized his mistake by now.
Unfortunately I feel like the idiots that make up this ownership group have always been incapable of realizing, and even worse, incapable of owning up to their mistakes.
I wouldn't exactly call those "massive shots" as much as I'd say he wasn't holding back and shared his true feelings. The Sox had made some stupid moves. IMO, this was one of the biggest ones. Don and Rem were absolute gold together. I can't for the life of me begin to understand their logic in letting him go.
Cheap ass owners
I love Don and I’m still upset he’s gone. Sean will always be my top guy but Don and Jerry were infinitely entertaining.
I nevertheless think something else may have been going on. The whole weird stuff with him and the video when Remy died kind of was a glimpse into the fact that maybe he wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with in that Orsillo kind of made it about himself.
Sox did him wrong.... put his firing up with the stupidity of the Mookie move...
I will always hold the departure of Don Orsillo anow they handled the departure of Terry Francona against ownership. Those plus how badly they bungled the Mookie situation just irritates the shit outta me.
Never forget one of the reasons Tom Werner fired Don Orsillo was because people fucking HATED Sox Appeal, and he took it out on the fans by firing D.O.
And when your replacement is more dull then a butter knife.
There is just some people who should of never been in the fields they are in. Case in point DoB why did he want to become commentator is a mystery. He has no passion for anything.
A fan could do a better job. Its said because if you wanted to get someone into the sport he is the last one you want your friend to hear.
Glad they saved that money so they could invest in the team...
One of THE dumbest decisions that JH and company made.
4-time World Championship ownership…who are actually huge fucking losers. Fuck Henry and fuck Warner.
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3d
Like Dave as well. Don is great. But man people lose their minds over this. Don landed very well
This.
Would he like to announce hockey games, per chance?
Good for Don
Ugh. They did him dirty. Do we know why they fired him? I’ve never understood- Orsillo and Remdawg- best duo in sports commentators.
Miss that guy! And remdog!
We still love you Don ❤️
I haaaaate Red Sox ownership
Don rocked! Never could figure why he was let go as it made no sense. Still doesn't !
This is fucking insanely depressing. The worst thing I’ve read in a long while. Will the new era of this team ever learn what loyalty is and why it’s crucially important…??
Unfortunately not until the idiots who own the team go away.
We love Don in SD, thank you!
I watch SD late games pretty often - he’s definitely invested in Machado. Orsillo freaking loves Machado.
Wait, are we talking about Don Orsillo the famous movie actor?!
This is really crappy of them to do and this is gonna give the red sox a really bad rep
There’s still no way to beat Saturdays started by Don Orsillo NESN Sports Desk and Charlie Moore Outdoors.
San Diego is your home Donny!
Did it ever come out why he was fired? He is so good at what he does
If I still had Extra Innings package I definitely would’ve listened to his call of this past weekends games and not NESN’s. Canceled after Mookie was traded.
Nesn should also carry some of the blame.
Good for him.
Just curious … I thought his contract was up and they simply moved on. Right or wrong …
Can't say I blame him at all.
Don Orsillo is and was one of the best sportscasters in the history of Boston sports. You can’t make up the chemistry he and Remy had. Not only that, I was fortunate to have met him multiple times and can say he was just as great a guy off screen. What they did to him was an absolute crime. He was destroyed at having to leave, and I don’t blame him for having some bitterness at the way he was treated. There was no reason for it. But we know now, that’s the way ownership views everyone, from behind the scenes to the players. Look at Bogaerts. He was an active member of the community, involved with the fans, WANTED to stay here for the remainder of his career. He too was just ignored and shuffled off. I get that there are budgets and other factors but really, there needs to be some consideration as to what is in the best interest of the fans, who contribute the revenue to keep the team going.
Here comes the pizza!
That was easily my least favorite ownership decision (which says a lot). People in various fan forums loved to hate on DO for whatever reason, but I think they got a big ol’ reality check after seeing the change in broadcast quality and booth chemistry. We were so goddamn lucky to have him and Jerry together for as long as we did.
It’s no secret that he was salty about how things went down and has said as much in interviews. He’s also had a propensity to “like” tweets where people snark on ownership over it. I mean it’s hard to blame him - blaming the decline in ratings on Don & Jerry when they dealt the bulk of their 2013 championship squad was just ludicrous.
I got to listen to DO call three Sox games. He’s the best.
What was the reason for firing him? How could you have fired this beautiful man.
The 98.5 guys are totally shitting on Orsillo. But you know what? They don't have to spend 40 bucks a month on the Nesn app.
It's just like why fire somebody that connects with the fans in such a meaningful way?
Dave O'Brien has been completely a nothing burger.
I miss Don. He and Remy were the best sports viewing experience.
Met him once during a Fenway tour. He and Jerry Remy were coming out of the booth as we walked passed. Great guys, super kind, took time to shake everyone's hands.
Wait, I’m way out of the loop, what happened with Don Orsillo when he left the Sox?
No shade to OB who I think has been great at the job and seems like an outstanding person on his own.
BUT
I grew up with Don and Remy and there was no real reason given for moving on. If you want to develop a connection with fans that lasts generations why would you replace the voice of that fandom (TV or radio). This is just a reminder that ownership hasn't just dropped the ball managing the product on the field or the personnel in the front office.
I met Don last year in Milwaukee. He is SO appreciative of Sox fans that followed him to SD, or that still show him love. I started watching Padres games in 2016 because of him, and it's been fun following another team. He's a class act.
Well deserved. I’m sure he still adores the fan base and wishes it never happened this way. But it’s great seeing him have so much fun with his partner in San Diego
It’s to bad he got fired
I always wondered how he reconciled the Machado incident. Now I know.
Do you blame him?
I always felt like Don was the closest thing to real life MLB Slugfest announcing. It is a large part of what is lacking in baseball these days. The announcers are too strait laced. Not that Don was particularly raunchy, but he knew how to deliver on the technical play calling, the hype play calling and the 11-2 route humor when needed. Absolute legend.
What happened?
The man ain’t wrong.
Honestly, Secret Base could probably do a Beef History episode on Don Orsillo and the Red Sox.
Hi Don my brother was Carl beane he would tell me behind the scenes stuff .also what they did to tito was wrong
They treated Tito horribly. Tito ! They've character assassinated many fan favorites that they wanted to be rid of, just trashing them on the way out. Manny and Pedro to name two. No surprise Don was treated badly.
Henry is a terrible person. It is his culture, his narcism, that is on display.
Lifelong Padre fan here to say that Tom Werner is a piece of shit and I wouldn’t wish his bullshit on my worst enemy
I get people love Don but it's been almost a decade
Maybe it's time to just get over it and move on. It's really not that big of a deal
It’s a massive deal actually. Games were fun to watch with Don, now they fucking aren’t. Pretty big deal.
I am with you
I thought Orsillo did a good job but I have to say that regular season tv play by play is way way down the list. Don was no Ned Martin or a Curt Gowdy
Orsillo was no Sean McDonough either …
I hate that so many of my best Red Sox memories growing up were with DOB and not Don.
Orsillo's turning into 1997 Bret Hart: He's right but he's become so vindictive and whiny you want to see Stone Cold come out and kick his ass.
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Absolutely criminal what they did to Dapper Don.