Tom Werner breaks his silence on Don Orsillo

Last year on WEEI, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said transparency is needed in any business, and yet it took a while for him to say anything about the unpopular decision to let go play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo.JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2015/Globe Staff

Picked-up pieces while wondering if we finally get some closure on the Tom Brady suspension this week . . .

NESN boss Tom Werner broke his silence Saturday, telling the Boston Herald that the Sox want to go with Dave O'Brien instead of Don Orsillo in the booth next year because it is "worth going in a different direction reenergizing the broadcast." This news broke while Orsillo was dutifully broadcasting the Sox' game against the Mets in New York. Wow. The Sox come home to face the Yankees Monday, which means Orsillo will be back at Fenway for the first time since NESN announced his replacement.

I know it's hard to believe, but more than one person has told me that John Jastremski still pops into Gillette Stadium now and then.

Put your money on Mike Hazen becoming the next general manager of the Red Sox.

My belief is that Roger Goodell is pandering to NFL owners from Pittsburgh, New York, Dallas, and Carolina. That's the reason for this overpunishment of the Patriots. Many envious rivals feel the Patriots got off too easy after Spygate and continue to bend the rules. NFL power brokers want Goodell to make New England pay this time.

It must be an exhausting time to be Jonathan Kraft. It can't be easy running the Patriots organization while simultaneously burning up the phone lines pushing the Patriot agenda on the team's ever-expanding media cartel.

Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times recently dissected David Ortiz's future Hall of Fame candidacy in measured, unemotional fashion. Hoffman wrote, " . . . to get him there [to Cooperstown], many of the unwritten rules of Hall of Fame voting will have to be ignored.'' Hoffman's dissection of Ortiz's Hall obstacles is not exclusively rooted in Papi being a DH or failing a drug test. "Ortiz falls short of a typical modern Hall of Famer in terms of career batting totals,'' wrote Hoffman. "Based on numbers, it is difficult to distinguish Ortiz from slugging position players like Carlos Delgado and Fred McGriff, who have not gotten serious consideration for Cooperstown.'' So there you have it, folks. Everybody in Sox Nation loves Big Papi. He's a special slugger with three championships and countless big moments in big games. But with his candidacy still seven or more years ahead, he is not the slam dunk that everybody around Boston thinks he is.

There's lots to enjoy for hard-core Patriots fans when "Do Your Job" airs on the NFL Network Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. There's even a short clip of Ernie Adams speaking, which is the sports equivalent of an interview with the late J.D. Salinger. In a prereleased snip of the video, Ernie says, "We're a closed shop. We have ways we do things. That's just the way it is . . . I've been with Bill [Belichick] since 1979 with the Giants. This is the only way I know.''

Here's Ernie telling us what he does: "For our defense, I'll set up the way I think Seattle might attack us on offense.'' Obviously, Ernie's intel was pretty handy when Pete Carroll panicked and tried that slant pass from the 1-yard line.

Meanwhile, Seattle's offensive coordinator spreads the party line and insists the Seahawks made the correct call. "I wouldn't change it,'' Darrell Bevell told MMQB. Like his boss, Bevell said Marshawn Lynch didn't get the ball on second and 1 because of the Patriots' defensive alignment. If I'm Paul Allen, I'm wondering why my coach lets the other team's defense dictate my offense's game plan.

Here's a New York Daily News sub-headline one day after Jets starting quarterback Geno Smith had his jaw broken by a teammate's punch: "Jets fans rejoice as QB out 6-10 weeks.'' Cold.

http://nydailynews.tumblr.com/post/126503223155/geno-smith-out-6-10-weeks-after-being-sucker

Quiz: Name the active Cy Young-winning pitcher and NFL Pro Bowl quarterback who went to high school together at Highland Park in Texas.

The Tiger Woods saga has become just plain boring.

Kraft Productions gave Hugh Hefner a run for his money with its cheerleader-beach photo shoot half-hour program, which aired on Channel 4 before the Patriots' second exhibition game.

If it's up to me, I'm trading Blake Swihart and keeping Christian Vasquez.

At the age of 73, Gentleman Jim Lonborg pitched a shutout inning in the 22d annual Old Time Baseball Game at St. Peter's Field in Cambridge on Thursday night. Lonborg induced three fly outs and hit one batter on a 3-and-2 pitch. The hit batsman did not charge the mound. Bet the young man didn't know that Lonborg led the American League with 19 HBPs in his Cy Young season of 1967. Lonborg triggered a brawl when he hit Thad Tillotson at Yankee Stadium in June of '67. After his stellar performance in Cambridge, Lonborg drove home in his sparkling red and white 1957 Chevy.

How's the new downtown stadium coming along in Widett Circle? I just love hanging out in midtown.

The death of Darryl Dawkins at the age of 58 Thursday was a shocker for those of us who loved the NBA in the 1970s and '80s. Dawkins was the first high schooler to directly enter the NBA, in 1975, and spent 14 years in the Association, most famously in Philadelphia, where he was nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder" by Stevie Wonder. Raised in Orlando, Dawkins claimed to have grown up on the planet "Lovetron.'' He is the man responsible for collapsible rims after he shattered a pair of backboards with monstrous dunks in the 1979-80 season. Thunder named several of his most famous dunks, including one over Bill Robinzine in Kansas City in 1979. That was the "If-You-Ain't Groovin', Best-Be-Movin', Chocolate-Thunder-Flyin', Robinzine-Cryin', Teeth-Shakin', Glass-Breakin', Rump-Roastin', Bun-Toastin', Glass-Still-Breakin', Wham-Bam-I-Am Jam.'' The 76ers-Kings game was delayed for more than an hour after the backboard smash. RIP Chocolate Thunder.

Mets manager Terry Collins has moved into the top 10 of skippers who've served the most games without making the playoffs. Something tells me Steve Pagliuca won't be hiring the Brattle Group to do a study for the Celtics or Bain Capital.

Kudos to the Red Sox for auctioning an opportunity to have Sox stars pour ice on the heads of generous fans as part of Pete Frates's Ice Bucket Challenge. The auction winners will be doused by the likes of Papi and Dustin Pedroia on Monday at Fenway.

Who do you like in the AFC East? Hmm. Think I'll mix it up and take the Patriots this year.

Classy move by WBZ Radio's Jonny Miller and fellow sports media legends Bob Lobel, Clark Booth, and Gil Santos taking out an ad in Friday's Globe to celebrate the life and times for former Herald sports columnist Tim Horgan. A pillar of journalistic integrity, Horgan covered sports for the Herald for more than 40 years and eight times was voted Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by his peers. Horgan died in Florida on May 28 and those of us in this business owe him a great debt for the help he offered and the example he set.

Quiz answer: Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford.

Ted Williams was born on Aug. 30, 97 years ago, in San Diego.