Game 162 Recap: A Farewell to Don

We have six months to eulogize the 2015 Boston Red Sox. They were flawed. They were sporadically exciting. They forced us to say goodbye to old friends and hello to new ones. They showed weakness in the first half and resiliency in the second. They’re done now.

2015 was better than 2014 or 2012, I think. Sure, any season that ends with Alexi Ogando as the last man to throw a pitch for you is a bummer, but we have Xander and Mookie and Blake and #Ed and #Honk and #TravisShawGOAT and if Dave Dombrowski doesn’t mess this up, we’ll have them for a long time.

But I’m not sure if any of that matters right now, because Game 162 was really about one thing. It was about Don Orsillo’s last game calling the Red Sox, and I still can’t believe what a shame it is that I have to be typing this sentence.

Top Play (WPA): Miscast Disney villain Giovanny Urshella singling to center to score Roberto Perez in the bottom of the second (.112).

Also, the Red Sox coming out of the dugout to give Don a collective tip of the cap that made this grown-ass 25-year-old Red Sox fan cry real tears. Also the Red Sox Nation <3 Don Orsillo banner that flew above the ironically named Progressive Field. We really do, Don.

Bottom Play (WPA): Travis Shaw flied out with two on and no one out in the top of the eighth (-.097).

The way NESN handled this entire scenario. Between-inning best-call montages and giving two minutes of air to Don to say his peace doesn’t make this better. We are not here because Don wants to leave or because he is retiring or because of any conflict of interest. We are here, feeling miserable and like we’ve lost a dear friend, because of a horrendous decision by NESN. We might be powerless to stop it, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget.

Key Moment:

Trend to Watch: The rest of the Padres offseason, which is already off to a phenomenal start.

Coming Next: Six months of trade rumors, David Price Watch, wanting to vomit any time Xander or Mookie are mentioned in trade rumors and, most immediately, rooting against the Yankees in the postseason. Thank you all for reading this year. We’ll be back with Game Recaps in April.

Photo by Mark L. Baer/USA Today Sports Images