MLB Thread 109: Happy Opening Day!

[The Captain]

Felger and Mazz sound like what happens when you take angry/ignorant people who call into radio stations with the hottest of uninformed, hot takes and they get their own show for some reason. Is that a fair assessment or off the mark?

[BRV]

Apr 13, 2015 14:56:08 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Felger and Mazz sound like what happens when you take angry/ignorant people who call into radio stations with the hottest of uninformed, hot takes and they get their own show for some reason. Is that a fair assessment or off the mark?

No, that's pretty spot on.

Their gimmick is to basically ridicule and criticize the local sports teams at every opportunity, which in turn gets the fan base all hot and bothered, so much so that they'll call in or keep listening on the radio. But they do it all under this misguided belief that they're being objective, that anyone who opposes their viewpoint is a "honk" or a "fanboy". Their belief is that their show - 99 percent negative reactions to 1 percent positive - is balance, while something along the lines of 50/50 is taking the company line, being a fan, and not being objective.

Michael Felger's whole angle is that he'll basically stick his finger in the air, see which direction the wind is blowing, then go as hard as he can in the opposite direction, whether he truly believes it or not. See his criticism of Curt Schilling after Schilling outed the Twitter trolls who made lewd comments about his daughter or his accusations on the day that Pedro Martinez was elected to the Hall of Fame, when he spent nearly four hours positing that Martinez might have been a steroid guy, despite no real evidence behind such claims. Tony Massarotti, meanwhile, is just Felger's lapdog, agreeing with whatever he says. There's a joke in Boston, where the phrase, "You're right, Mike!" has become a punchline to mock Mazz, because it's mostly all he says.

But they're successful, as their 2-6 p.m. show is among the highest rated in all of Boston radio. They're the sports radio version of that scene in "Private Parts", when the researcher says that the average Howard Stern fan listens for over an hour, while the average Stern hater listens for nearly three hours, because they just want to see what will be said next.

[The Captain]

Yikes. that sounds even worse than the Boomer and Carton show on WFAN here. And that's saying something.

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 13, 2015 15:06:25 GMT -5 BRV said:

Apr 13, 2015 14:56:08 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Felger and Mazz sound like what happens when you take angry/ignorant people who call into radio stations with the hottest of uninformed, hot takes and they get their own show for some reason. Is that a fair assessment or off the mark?

No, that's pretty spot on.

Their gimmick is to basically ridicule and criticize the local sports teams at every opportunity, which in turn gets the fan base all hot and bothered, so much so that they'll call in or keep listening on the radio. But they do it all under this misguided belief that they're being objective, that anyone who opposes their viewpoint is a "honk" or a "fanboy". Their belief is that their show - 99 percent negative reactions to 1 percent positive - is balance, while something along the lines of 50/50 is taking the company line, being a fan, and not being objective.

Michael Felger's whole angle is that he'll basically stick his finger in the air, see which direction the wind is blowing, then go as hard as he can in the opposite direction, whether he truly believes it or not. See his criticism of Curt Schilling after Schilling outed the Twitter trolls who made lewd comments about his daughter or his accusations on the day that Pedro Martinez was elected to the Hall of Fame, when he spent nearly four hours positing that Martinez might have been a steroid guy, despite no real evidence behind such claims. Tony Massarotti, meanwhile, is just Felger's lapdog, agreeing with whatever he says. There's a joke in Boston, where the phrase, "You're right, Mike!" has become a punchline to mock Mazz, because it's mostly all he says.

But they're successful, as their 2-6 p.m. show is among the highest rated in all of Boston radio. They're the sports radio version of that scene in "Private Parts", when the researcher says that the average Howard Stern fan listens for over an hour, while the average Stern hater listens for nearly three hours, because they just want to see what will be said next.

The Jack Edwards incident from a week or so ago was a fantastic example of Felger's shtick backfiring and making a colossal ass out of him.

[BRV]

Apr 13, 2015 15:10:19 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Yikes. that sounds even worse than the Boomer and Carton show on WFAN here. And that's saying something.

What's most frustrating is that they've forgotten what made them initially successful. The show (and the station itself) debuted in the summer of 2009 and it took some time to really catch on and surpass WEEI (the other Boston sports radio station) in the ratings. But what did it was their coverage of the Bruins' Stanley Cup run in 2011.

WEEI had a long history of treating hockey like a niche sport with a minuscule following, so when the Bruins made their run through the playoffs, The Sports Hub and the Felger and Mazz program treated it like the biggest deal in the world. They weren't purely critical, but they weren't openly rooting for the Bruins, they were giving straight-up analysis of the previous night's game and legitimately objective discussions about the next game or series. It was among some of the best sports radio I've ever listened to.

Then somewhere along the line, things changed and the show morphed into what it has become. Now, instead of discussion and analysis of a championship run or championship game, like we had during the 2011 Stanley Cup run, we have what we had after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 or after the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX.

When the Red Sox won the World Series, a lot of the talk was what a "gift" the season was and what a "fluke" it has since turned out to be. When the Patriots won the Super Bowl this past February, the conversation that dominated the airwaves from 2-6 wasn't how we just witnessed arguably the greatest football game ever played or its miraculous, heart-stopping finish, it was how if Malcolm Butler doesn't intercept that final Russell Wilson pass, the Patriots are choke artists and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick gagged away another Super Bowl victory. That was honestly most of the day, just a million "what ifs" instead of what actually occurred.

I can already hear their takes on this afternoon's Nationals vs. Red Sox game:

Felger - "Well if the Nationals defense showed up, the Red Sox probably lose that game!"
Mazz - "Everyone needs to calm down about Mookie Betts. It's one game. Let's see where you are in October!"
Felger - "The Nationals are an NL team...are they even that good?"
Mazz - "You're right, Mike!"

[andrew8798]

So much for the team to beat in the Nats

[andrew8798]

Yankees at Orioles, 7:05/4:05 PM, ESPN

TUESDAY
Tigers at Pirates, 4:05/1:05 PM, MLBN
Mariners at Dodgers, 10:05/7:05 PM, MLBN

WEDNESDAY
Nationals at Red Sox, 1:35 PM/10:35 AM, MLBN
Yankees at Orioles, 7:05/4:05 PM, MLBN
Mariners at Dodgers, 10:05/7:05 PM, ESPN2

THURSDAY
Brewers at Cardinals, 1:35 PM/10:35 AM, MLBN
Marlins at Mets, 7:05/4:05 PM, MLBN
Diamondbacks at Giants, 10:05/7:05 PM, MLBN

FRIDAY
White Sox at Tigers, 1:05 PM/10:05 AM, MLBN
Orioles at Red Sox, 7:05/4:05 PM, MLBN

SATURDAY
Phillies at Nationals, 1:05 PM/10:05 AM, MLBN
Orioles at Red Sox, 4:05/1:05 PM, FS1
Yankees at Rays, 7:10/4:10 PM, FS1

SUNDAY
Orioles at Red Sox 1:30 PM ET/10:30 AM, MLBN
Reds at Cardinals, 8:05/5:05, ESPN

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 13, 2015 18:20:32 GMT -5 andrew8798 said:

So much for the team to beat in the Nats

Only 7 games in.

[andrew8798]

Wouldn't shock me to see a repeat of two years ago

[BRV]

Once the Nationals get Anthony Rendon and Denard Span back, their lineup and defense will be adjusted to what it was expected to be, and everything will be back to what we projected of them. They're still the best team in the National League and I still think they'll come close to, if not exceed, 100 wins.

[HMARK Center]

Apr 13, 2015 19:26:06 GMT -5 BRV said:

Once the Nationals get Anthony Rendon and Denard Span back, their lineup and defense will be adjusted to what it was expected to be, and everything will be back to what we projected of them. They're still the best team in the National League and I still think they'll come close to, if not exceed, 100 wins.

Totally agreed that they'll get back on track when Span and Werth get back, but not seeing 100 wins from them: vulnerable bullpen and the injuries to the lineup may be legit (Rendon is not doing too great, for example). Dat rotation, though: definitely will push 95 wins.

By the by, Boston radio sounding worse than NYC sports radio floors me, because I can't comprehend it being any worse. So glad I have XM; they're bad at times, too (Jim Bowden is pretty useless, the anti-sabermetrics BS from some of their guys is absurd), but outside of Chris Russo getting an hour every day, it's not a format that relies on pissing listeners off to get people tuning in.

Anyway, thanks to the Phillies for taking 2 of 3 from Washington this week, and thank you for getting shut down by deGrom today. Now, tremble, wail, and prepare for Harvey Day.

[The Captain]

Stephen Drew just hit a grand slam.

What.

A pinch hit grand slam.

What.

I am happy but also extremely confused.

[Vampiro138]

....what are the odds Lester gets thrown on the DL within a few days?? just to go down and work up arm strength since he didnt have a full spring training. hes just seemed off his last 2 starts with us.

[Perd]

I think I've already enjoyed this Cubs season more than the past five combined. First time they've been 2 games over .500 since 2010. Just need Lester to get his shit together.

[Deleted]

Crowd is crazy for Harvey tonight.

[Crusty Ruffles]

Carlos Carrasco left the game after taking a comebacker off the jaw.

[RKTaker]

cuddyer got hit by a pitch on the hand and based on his injury history this could be bad

[Deleted]

Apr 14, 2015 18:56:43 GMT -5 RKTaker said:

cuddyer got hit by a pitch on the hand and based on his injury history this could be bad

X-Ray came back negative. Whew.

[Vampiro138]

dear Jake Arrieta...if i ever see you when im at work or just walking around the city after work i am going to give you the biggest hug! you are awesome!! thank you for being here in Chicago and pitching like BEAST since you arrived at wrigley.

[Deleted]

Getting a little tense at Citi Field.