Denial

The report first came down Tuesday morning, and there was no way it could’ve been real. I saw a tweet from the Dennis & Callahan account, and my first reaction was that something had been misinterpreted. Maybe they were still negotiating. Maybe Orsillo decided he wanted to try a national gig. That would be tough to swallow, but at least it would’ve been his choice. But there was no way NESN could actually be dumb enough to let Orsillo go, right?

Anger

There was legitimate anger from just about every Red Sox fan on Tuesday, and it was totally justified. Orsillo might be the very best play-by-play guy in the sport right now, and he’s certainly one of the best. He mixes humor, calmness and excitement so seamlessly. He had hilarious moments like “Here comes the pizza,” the boob grab, the tooth incident, the guy trying to put on the poncho, and the lamp. At the same time, he had incredible calls, like Daniel Nava’s go-ahead home run after the Marathon bombing and the Mother’s Day miracle. How the hell could the higher-ups at NESN not think this guy was worth the money?

Bargaining

Maybe if we yell at NESN’s twitter account long enough, they’ll change their mind. Maybe if we threaten to boycott the rest of their games, they’ll change their mind. Maybe if we start a petition, they’ll change their mind. We know it’s not going to happen, but we have to try.

Depression

Man, this really sucks. Orsillo has been calling every Red Sox game for ten years now, and has been here through one of the most tumultuous eras in the team’s history. For me, personally, he was the voice of my formative years in the game. This was the time I went from a young, casual fan to a slightly older die-hard. It was the time I transformed from the type of fan who would turn off a game during a blowout to the one who still watched every pitch. Orsillo was as big of a part of that as anyone. He still managed to make the game entertaining even when the ending was a foregone conclusion. For a sport that’s losing interest in a world shifting more toward instant gratification, that type of talent will be sorely missed.

Acceptance

In the end, it’s not really as bad as we’re making it seem. Orsillo definitely won’t be out of work for long. If he wants a national gig, someone will almost certainly give that to him. We’ll all be able to hear him on a regular basis in that case. If he’d prefer a local gig, he’ll get that too. In the internet-era, we all have access to any broadcast we want to listen to. Orsillo isn’t leaving the baseball world, just our local world. On top of that, Dave O’Brien, his replacement, is very good at his job.

With that being said, NESN is making a massive mistake here. The Red Sox have had so many huge moments over the last 10-15 years, and Orsillo has been here for almost all of them. He’s the best play-by-play guy in baseball, and as big a part of the franchise as anyone. This is truly the end of a golden era for Red Sox baseball, and it’s an ending that none of us were at all prepared for.

Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Images. [Editor’s note: This is the only picture of Orsillo I could find. I looked for 20 minutes.]

Top Play (WPA): This game’s three top plays are represented by Boston’s three homeruns: Pablo Sandoval’s solo shot in the second (.121), David Ortiz’s two-run blast in the fourth (.119) and Alejandro De Aza’s solo bomb in the second (.111). Hitting three homers against one of the game’s best pitchers is no small feat, and it was impressive to see Boston’s hitters capitalize on the few mistakes Archer made at several points.

Worst Play (WPA): There was no singular truly terrible moment for either team in this game. Steven Souza’s strikeout in the bottom of the eight (-.064) gets “top” honors here, but there were five additional plays all within .020 WARP. What’s interesting to note is that the bottom 17 — yes, 17 — plays all belonged to Tampa. That’s a bad day at the office.

Key Moment: The homers were great, and you can argue that Ortiz’s bomb deserves the nod here. But for my money, the key moment in this game came in the bottom of the eighth, when Deven Marrero made a very Dustin Pedroia-esque play to rob Brendan Guyer of a base hit that probably would’ve scored a run. Marrero’s bat clearly isn’t ready for the majors, per his MiLB numbers, but he’s lauded for his glove and here we got to see why. This is all the more impressive when you consider that Marrero has very little experience at the keystone.

Trend to Watch: Justin Masterson was … good? This certainly isn’t a “trend” yet, and the Rays don’t have a great offense, but Masterson struck out six in five innings, scattering five hits without giving up any free passes. Should we be optimistic this will continue? No. But for one night, at least, the much-maligned decision to replace Joe Kelly with Masterson and not Steven Wright or Brian Johnson looks quite justified.

Jerry Remy learning he pronounces things weird is also a key trend.

Last trend: I’m an idiot.

Available Sox SP, ranked: 1) Buch 2) #Ed 3) Porcello 4) Miley 5) Johnson 6) Wright 7) Brock Holt 8) Owens 9) You 10) Kelly Last) Masterson

— Ben Carsley (@BenCarsley) June 25, 2015

Coming Next: Boston heads up North to take on the Blue Jays in a four-game series that could go a long way toward determining if they buy or sell at the deadline. The Jays have a terrific offense and are, for my money, the scariest team in the division. If Boston takes three out of four, it’s entirely possible they’d “only” be seven or so games out of first. If they tie, lose the series or get swept, well, take a long last look at Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino and potentially Koji Uehara and Clay Buchholz.

The good news is Boston’s four best pitchers are toeing the rubber, and yes this is sarcastic.

Photo by Kim Klement/USA Today Sports Images