Ralphwiggum said:
Oh, and Tony Mazz is pissed off already that this team might lose in the ALDS, which would be a disappointment.
Buffalo Head said:I can't recall if it was a caller, or Felger or Beetle, but someone said yesterday that if the Red Sox win the World Series in five, Mazz will spend the day bitching that it wasn't a sweep.
Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
He has historical precedent on his side; after the Sox beat the Yankees in Game 7 in 2004, D&C spent the next morning bitching about the Pedro appearance in that game.
Miserable bastards, the whole lot of them.
NortheasternPJ said:
Some caller called up last week and ripped Tony to shreds about this exact point. F&M both basically said "yep, we're negative miserable bastards" and laughed about it. At least they're aware of it!
Eddie Andelman is not walking through that door. . . :q:Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Great, because when I want to listen to sports talk, I want that to come from negative miserable bastards. Awesome.
The whole business model sucks and it stinks and it sucks.
Dotrat said:Eddie Andelman is not walking through that door. . . :q:
Yeah for the last few weeks it's been Toucher and Rich or music. Felger and Mazz drive me up a wall and I just can't get into Holley and Salk.Buffalo Head said:I tried listening for about 10 minutes today and had to stop. I now listen to Gresh and Zo for longer stretches. Sad.
Ralphwiggum said:I don't get a chance to listen to the whole show, but the 35 minutes I caught was miserable radio lamenting problems that don't exist (yet) and completely devoid of any excitement or even discussion of a Red Sox post-season that one year ago seemed impossible.
Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Great, because when I want to listen to sports talk, I want that to come from negative miserable bastards. Awesome.
The whole business model sucks and it stinks and it sucks.
Ralphwiggum said:So, my entire drive home yesterday I had to listen to them discussing what next year's Sox team will look like, and lamenting the fact that post-season success for this team means it'll be more expensive to bring guys like Ellsbury and Salty back. Talk about a good problem to have.
I don't get a chance to listen to the whole show, but the 35 minutes I caught was miserable radio lamenting problems that don't exist (yet) and completely devoid of any excitement or even discussion of a Red Sox post-season that one year ago seemed impossible.
Oh, and Tony Mazz is pissed off already that this team might lose in the ALDS, which would be a disappointment.
I would hardly say this is true. T & R talk Sox everyday and Wallach is such a huge Sox geek, it makes me turn the channel sometimes.shawnrbu said:
That's because the Sports Hub has an agenda to try to marginalize the Red Sox in this town. Their two main shows either virtually ignore the Red Sox (T&R) or are nearly universally negative in their coverage of the team (Felger & Mazz).
Meanwhile, when we get to mid April each year, the station basically holds a pep rally from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. for the Bruins.
Lose Remerswaal said:
Someone needs to get ralphy a new radio
PC Drunken Friar said:I would hardly say this is true. T & R talk Sox everyday and Wallach is such a huge Sox geek, it makes me turn the channel sometimes.
Subject: Dammit!
It is the multiple layers of conceit that get me. I want to listen/read, and I want to acquire insights, but the multiple layers of conceit are in the way:
Tony Massarotti is now officially a believer in the Red Sox on the Baseball “Reporters,” and as revenge he has hiiiigh expectations for the Sox in the playoffs, and will be disappointed in them if they don’t advance in the right way.
- That opinions matter as much or more than reporting
- That opinions are tapped into what sports fans are saying and thinking
- That opinions generate their own relevancy
- That prediction of absolute outcomes stand in as an argument, particularly to present false choices
- That criticism can be deflected by having it both ways (a Paul Reiser joke: “I am not saying you are fat, I am just saying that you are a little on the chubby side.”)
He sees despicable complacency in calling the 2013 season already successful, and states that those who feel that way are not in tune with real Red Sox fandom.
It is evident to Tony that calling the 2013 season already successful places no expectations on success in the playoffs.
He doesn’t think that it is right to place no expectations on success in the playoffs, and that before 2004, maintaining high and passionate expectations is how fans thought about the Sox.
He maintains the Sox should be able to beat some teams easily in the playoffs. If they don’t, they will be a disappointment.
If Massarotti were a real “baseball reporter,” he would understand and relate a few things:
But he is not a “baseball reporter.” He is not tapped into how real fans view the Red Sox. He is not relevant. He does not present cogent arguments. He does not present consistent arguments. Instead, he is conceited. I suspect he is laughing to the bank.
- That against playoff caliber teams, the very best likelihood of winning a short series would be no more than 60%, but probably not as much as that.
- That the chances of advancing to and then winning a World Series would be less than 20% for any and all teams this year, and yet we can still enjoy watching a team try.
- That the reason why there is uncertainty in a short series, is because a few inches on a Tony Clark line drive down the right field line, or a shut down performance by Derek Lowe who carried a 5.42 season ERA into the playoffs, can make huge differences.
- That performance on the field is not an absolute indicator of team character, and that character is not what is most on display when a game is being played.
I am guilty of contributing to his humor, by even paying attention to (and writing about!) him, but dammit, I really really want to talk, listen, and read about a very enjoyable team. I am a sucker and I know it.
There is nothing I can say to Tony Massarotti because I hear others trying to say it on the radio, to no avail, and I know I can’t be any more successful. It is Tony Massarotti today, but previous others through the years have exercised those multiple layers of conceit with equal adroitness. Such people do succeed.
These ilk are not going to ruin my enjoyment of this season but really — dammit.
steveluck7 said:Felger has basically stated as such recently. He said, on the air, something along the lines of like "i could sit here for 4 hours and toss bouquets to the teams but that's boring radio."
Is it possible that his (the traditional?) thought might be that by being overly negative, fans will get riled up and call in to challenge his opinion? That would be entertaining but it hasn't happened. Fans who disagree just get annoyed and tune out and he gets a bunch of morons who call and agree with him. What's worse, is when they actually DO have something positive to say, those same idiots call in and call them "Home-iz"Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
He's missing the point when he says that. The point is not to suck up to or shit all over the teams on a daily basis, the point is to provide some insight, nuance, and interesting radio. How is it less boring for Felger and Mazz to engage in the most idiotic of mental gymnastics in order to shit all over the Sox and the Pats despite their successes?
Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
He's missing the point when he says that. The point is not to suck up to or shit all over the teams on a daily basis, the point is to provide some insight . . .
PC Drunken Friar said:I would hardly say this is true. T & R talk Sox everyday and Wallach is such a huge Sox geek, it makes me turn the channel sometimes.
This is not directed as you. I used to get angry at all the non-sense and factually incorrect numbers (lazy unprepared bastards) provided on sports radio. After several years of telling myself that I don't have to listen to this stress adding exercise before I battle a long commute and then start my day at work I've actually stopped listening whenever I find myself getting aggravated. And now I win. I listen to books on CD, music, and check in occasionally to sports radio. They win when you let them. Don't encourage this catering to the lowest common denominator. You control your listening habits.shawnrbu said:
I listen to T&R most mornings from 7:45 to 8:30. There is not a lot of Red Sox talk in that time period. Their show is entertaining, but I do not think the Sox get near the kind of coverage the Patriots and Bruins do. If it evens out during other segments of the show that I do not listen to, then I will take your word for it.
As for Felger, he is beating the drum that if the Sox fail to make it to the ALCS, then the season needs to be considered a choke.
seantoo said:This is not directed as you. I used to get angry at all the non-sense and factually incorrect numbers (lazy unprepared bastards) provided on sports radio. After several years of telling myself that I don't have to listen to this stress adding exercise before I battle a long commute and then start my day at work I've actually stopped listening whenever I find myself getting aggravated. And now I win. I listen to books on CD, music, and check in occasionally to sports radio. They win when you let them. Don't encourage this catering to the lowest common denominator. You control your listening habits.
As for Felger, he is beating the drum that if the Sox fail to make it to the ALCS, then the season needs to be considered a choke.
I'm usually listening during that same general time-frame and have to disagree a bit. Rich has almost been begging people to watch this team over the last few weeks, and they usually have Pete Abraham and Sean McAdam on during this period twice a week over the course of the whole year. Fred might be apathetic a bit since he's a Tigers / Cards guy, but everyone else has been fully on board IMO.shawnrbu said:
I listen to T&R most mornings from 7:45 to 8:30. There is not a lot of Red Sox talk in that time period. Their show is entertaining, but I do not think the Sox get near the kind of coverage the Patriots and Bruins do. If it evens out during other segments of the show that I do not listen to, then I will take your word for it.
As for Felger, he is beating the drum that if the Sox fail to make it to the ALCS, then the season needs to be considered a choke.
PC Drunken Friar said:Not to mention he is a homophobe, promotes rape culture and bars tools demographic target is like 16-24 year old frat boys
I am not.
Promotes rape culture? Haha. Please tell me you're being facetious. Please.