Seriously.I get it. You like the guy. Really, why wouldn’t
you? He does a wonderful job as the voice of the Red Sox. I don’t blame you for
wishing he’d stick around.
But this is getting out of hand.
First of all, he wasn’t fired. His contract is up, and it
wasn’t renewed. People act like it’s a way for the Red Sox to spin it.
“Nobody’s fired from the Red Sox.” But, it’s actually an important difference.
The reason people work under finite contracts is to allow for change when that
contract is up. So, the Red Sox aren't saying he was doing a bad job, or that he
was the reason the ratings are down. The time had simply come to make a
decision, so they made one. They decided it was a good idea to get a fresh voice
in the booth, and they had a chance to grab one of the best. Hard to argue with
the idea. Sometimes when an opportunity presents itself, you need to jump on
it.
Like I said previously, I would be more upset if the Sox
went in another direction completely. If they replaced Orsillo with a dancing
monkey, I could say they’re making a bad call. Or, they’re only concerned about
turning the Fenway Experience into a three-ring circus. But, they didn’t. They
went with another very professional, well respected announcer. Once people get
over the initial adjustment, I bet it will be a seamless transition.
Which is really why these petitions and t-shirts are a waste
of time. They’re not going in that other direction. Maybe you could say “If we
can show NESN that we don’t want fluff, they’ll listen.” But, they are
listening. They’ve hired the announcer you’re saying you want. Same initials
even. Really, it’s cementing their decision. The fans like the way the games
have been called. They’ll just be getting a different voice.
Sure, I bet the Sox wished that everyone would jump up and
scream with joy over Dave O’Brien. But, just because they’re not doesn’t mean
they made the wrong call. After all, people were pretty upset when the Sox made
the switch to Orsillo in the first place. It also doesn’t mean that they
bungled the switch. It just means that fans are voicing their opinions.
Granted, that doesn’t mean that they’ll want those opinions
voiced at the park. So, the pro-Orsillo signs are a bit touchy. But, leave it
to the #SaveOrsillo folks to turn that into a controversy as well. A couple
employees apparently said that they were told to confiscate all pro-Orsillo
signs. No, this doesn’t violate your free speech. You’re not subject to arrest
for saying it. The Sox just don’t want you to say it on a sign in their
building. Obviously, they didn’t take every sign, since some people posted pics
of their signs in the park. But, I’m sure they were on high alert. Which is
probably what the actual instructions were. Something like, “Be on the lookout
for anything offensive or really bad when it comes to Orsillo.” After all,
signs aren’t allowed in the park ever. It’s just a rule they enforce “as
needed.” I imagine they just ramped up the “as needed” portion. Hence the conflicting
reports and confusion. The lower levels were taking all the signs, just to be
safe, while the supervisors just wanted them to be extra careful. Seems
reasonable to me.
After all, change is never easy.
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