The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

In last week’s third installment of the Bmore SMARs, ESPN 1300’s Anita Marks limped around the bases to an impressive 86% “nay” rating (which could change slightly in the next couple of hours before the poll closes). At first I was shocked that the comments on her poll weren’t more active, but I suppose there are only so many ways to say “she’s not that good.”

This week we shift gears to focus on a far more interesting subject: Jim Palmer himself.

Jim Palmer the player was the undisputed man. 3 Cy Youngs, 6 all-star appearances, 4 gold gloves, 2 ERA titles, and he led the American League in victories three times. Indeed, one could make an argument that he’s the greatest player ever to don the black and orange. If he’s not, he’s close.

But our focus here is on Jim Palmer the broadcaster. He’s currently an Orioles color analyst for MASN, and he has been a team broadcaster in some form for 15 seasons. He has also worked for ABC, most notably during the late eighties as part of a team with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver.

Jim’s reputation is as a smart, insightful commentator who isn’t afraid to speak the truth. That’s how I think of him, anyway. I’ve heard folks in the past describe him as a little too smart, in a way that some have derided as arrogant.

Time to settle it once and for all. Cast your “yea” or “nay” vote for Jim in the poll below, then join the discussion in the comments. As always, keep it clean etc etc.

I’m settled back in, the site appears to be functioning properly (cross your fingers), and the Orioles are off before visiting Wrigley Field for a series against the seemingly unstoppable Chicago Cubs. Perfect time for the latest installment of the Baltimore Sports Media Approval Ratings, no?

And this one’s a biggie, too. For today we tackle the person who is arguably our city’s most polarizing and controversial sports media figure: none other than Ms. Anita Marks herself.

I went back and forth a few times with this one. Is it too early? Should I let the SMAR concept marinate a bit more before taking on Ms. Marks? Maybe so, but screw it. The time is now.

Anita Marks is, for those who don’t know, the afternoon drive time host on ESPN Radio 1300 AM and, for part of the show, MASN. She arrived in Baltimore back in June of 2006 and has been a vocal and visible part of our sports landscape from basically day one. Prior to her time here, she was a sports radio host in her native Florida.

She’s also a former women’s pro football player who (as if anyone doesn’t know this) once appeared in Playboy.

She has an occasionally updated blog at the 1300 site and has her own site.

So: yea or nay on Ms. Marks? Vote below and explain/analyze in the comments. Criticize to your heart’s content but do so in a thoughtful and respectful way. Clean, cool, and on-topic are the order of the day.

Buck Martinez staged an impressive comeback in the last poll, eventually finishing as a solid “yea” with 72%. Something tells me Marks might not have it so easy…

Who better to kick off our local version of the SMARs than Amber Theoharis? The comely MASN sideline reporter — who does double duty as a PressBox columnist and triple duty as an ever-so-occasional radio host — is a native of the area and the most visible media face (save for maybe Palmer, who we’ll get to) of the local baseball team.

Here’s more from her MASN bio:

Prior to joining MASN, Amber was the weekend sports anchor and reporter at FOX45 in Baltimore, and also hosted Ravens Wired, a weekly NFL magazine show. Throughout her career Amber has held on-air positions at WSYX-TV in Columbus, OH; WNBC-TV in New York City; New 12 Long Island and WBOC-TV in Salisbury MD. She began her career behind the scenes at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

An Emmy-award-winning sports journalist who was recently named Maryland Sportscaster of the Year by The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, Amber is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.

Smart money says she only stays here for so long before the siren song of ESPN lures her off to Bristol. In the meantime, she’s ours to love or hate.

Cast your vote below, then elaborate in the comments. But remember: keep it clean and cool. Don’t say anything in the comments you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying while hanging out at the same bar as Amber (something, no doubt, many of us would like to do). I know I probably don’t need to say that, but it’s worth mentioning just in case this idea takes off.

So a couple of days ago I mentioned something new I was going to be adding to the site. Here it is: the Baltimore Sports Media Approval Ratings.

Those of you who read Deadspin are already familiar with this concept. When I first saw it there I didn’t think much other than “great idea.” Then it got picked up with a local (DC) angle by Dan Steinberg at the DC Sports Bog. I saw it there a few times and thought, “why can’t we do that here?”

My only hesitation is that things like this tend to work best on sites with blazing traffic numbers. After all, if we get, like, ten votes per poll then it’s not going to be much fun. I don’t know what to expect in that regard, but I figure it’s at least worth a shot.

The first poll will go up Monday, featuring MASN’s own Amber Theoharis. It’ll be a simple “yea” or “nay” proposition, with open comments (as always) for discussion.

I’ll do at least two or three of these and we’ll see how it goes. My definition of success will be (a) we get a decent amount of votes, and (b) the comments are fun but respectful and clean. I think those are pretty reasonable expectations, right?

Give me your initial thoughts on the idea in the comments, if you’re so inclined.

The O’s are back home — finally — for a two-game series against the hated Pinque Sox. And we all know what that means. The good news, though, is that I think a handful of Sox fans actually work for a living, so these weeknight games might be relatively tame. We shall see.

We’ve got Jeremy Guthrie on the hill tonight against Josh Beckett, which should be fun. Surprisingly enough, too, Orioles hitters are batting a collective .291 against Beckett. Something tells me we won’t touch him up quite that badly tonight, but one never knows.

Also, don’t forget that tonight I’ll be a guest on the Fighting Ungers radio show on 1570 WNST from 6:30-8.

Starting tonight, this is a regular gig every other Tuesday. So, tune the hell in! And why not call while you’re at it?

Just dug up a great little story about broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell. Read it here.

“My dad had a furniture store there,” Harwell said. “He went broke in the ’20s, when the boll weevil came in.

We also learn that Branch Rickey once traded a catcher to get Harwell, which is exactly the kind of thing baseball needs to start doing again.

Also, here’s a nice article from Florida about new pitching coach Rick Kranitz.

First: I had a great time on the Fighting Ungers radio program yesterday morning, and I hope at least a few of you had a chance to listen in. I hope to get the chance to do it again in the future — in the meantime, tune ‘em in if you’re up between 8 and 11 on a Saturday.

Moving on…

Just so everyone knows I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong, I present the following gem:

I’m telling you, wait and see on Flanagan. I like the continuity, I like the fact that there’s a chance that Angelos will actually trust him and give him some decision making power. What does he know about being a GM? Maybe not much, but it can’t get any worse. 

I was freeing up some space on my hard drive tonight (exciting goings on for a Saturday night, no?) when I found that statement in an email I sent to a friend on October 12, 2005.

Naturally, that gives rise to questions about whether or not I’m being blind again as I evaluate the early months of the Andy MacPhail regime. Which means, basically, that we have two choices. We can continue to identify the good and/or smart moves and believe in them, or we can fall back on the past ten years and say “fuck it, the Orioles are screwed.”

I take no joy in watching if I believe my team is permanently screwed. On the other hand, I can stomach the losses when I believe they come with a purpose. Whether or not they do is somewhat beside the point.

Good news: I’m going to be a guest tomorrow morning on the Fighting Ungers radio program on WNST. I’ll be in at 8:30 am, which means that you’ll be witnessing something extremely rare and captivating (me being up that early on a Saturday).

Tune in to 1570 AM in the local area, or go to wnst.net and click on “listen live”.

I — and Marc Unger, I’m sure — sincerely hope you’ll give it a listen.