The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

In last week’s voting, Peter Schmuck rode the wave generated by his new blog (which, by the way, is pretty damn good) all the way to a 70% approval rating. Congrats, Pete.

This week we turn our attention to none other than pitcher-turned-broadcaster Dave Johnson.

Despite being part of the mythical “Why Not?” season, Johnson never found much success on the hill (22-25 with a 5.11 ERA for his career). So, after retiring from baseball following the 1993 season (spent with Detroit), the Baltimore native moved on to other pursuits.

One of them — Dave Johnson’s Baseball Academy — is very cool but doesn’t concern us here. The other — color analyst for MASN and for the 105.7 pre- and post-game shows — is very, very cool and does concern us here.

Johnson brings something unique to the booth, with his bulldog mentality and willingness to call things exactly as he sees them. With that, however, comes a tendency to get a little bit emotional at times and maybe wear his heart on his sleeve a little too much. He’s definitely not polished out there — he’s Dave, take it or leave it.

Which will it be?

In a most impressive showing indeed, Roch Kubatko earned a 97% “yea” rating in last week’s poll. He garnered the most overall votes of anybody so far, and only two voters dissented — something I doubt we’re likely to see again. It’s a testament to the goodwill he’s built up, and I’m sure his post-Sun endeavors will be met with great success.

With that we move across the Sun newsroom (figuratively) to a man who, as far as I know, is not leaving anytime soon: Peter Schmuck.

Schmuck has been with the local paper since 1990, and in that time he has been named Maryland Sportswriter of the Year four times. He can also be heard periodically on WBAL, doing both sports and (now and then) current events.

According to Wikipedia, he’s been president of the Baseball Writers Association of America since 2005. I find that strange and hard to believe, but apparently it’s true.

All the awards and recognition in the world won’t get you very far, however, if the Loss Column community doesn’t have your back.

So, what do we say?

As of this moment, Jim Hunter is just one vote to the “nay” in last week’s poll. But it doesn’t close for about an hour, so there’s room for that to change if you haven’t voted yet.

With all of the talk in yesterday’s Open Thread about Roch Kubatko potentially leaving the Sun (a rumor he partially shot down today), it’s only a natural for him to be the subject of this week’s BSMAR poll.

Kubatko, as you know, is a renaissance man of sorts in terms of Orioles coverage. He’s been a reporter at the Sun for quite some time, at least since the late nineties, but his profile has been raised significantly over the past few years on account of his blog, Roch Around the Clock. He’s also done regular guest appearances on Anita Marks‘ radio show and on MASN.

For the most part, he’s as good as there is when it comes to inside info on the O’s. I can’t imagine anyone would argue with that.

Of course, he has taken his share of arrows. He tends to the clunky now and then with his writing style, and his propensity for cracking questionable jokes can get downright cringe-worthy at times. And some people, well, just don’t like him for whatever reason.

The only vote that matters, though, is this one.

Last week, Mark Viviano rode the lowest vote total so far to a respectable 79% “yea” rating. That’s about what I expected. Congrats, Mark. Something tells me “the bulldog” won’t fare as well when his turn comes up.

That’ll have to wait, though, as this week we turn our attention to that stalwart of the Orioles TV broadcast booth, Mr. Jim Hunter.

Hunter has been working with the O’s in some capacity since 1997. Presently, his main gig is working the MASN studio with Rick Dempsey, though he also handles game duties on occasion. It seems to me that he works every Sunday, but I’m not sure if that’s a matter of official policy. Either way, it might or might not have something to do with the Curse.

Hunter’s got a lot of experience behind him, including CBS Radio “Game of the Week” and Winter Olympics duties. But I’ve gotten the sense that he’s also a source of some strong opinions out there in Birdland.

So, now’s your chance to be heard. Cast a vote then explain why in the comments. Usual rules apply, of course.

Last week, former Oriole great Jim Palmer scored a record-setting victory in the SMARs, finishing with a seemingly impossible 97% “yea” rating. To be fair, though, he also had the fewest votes of any candidate so far. The message I take from this is that people find Jim Palmer (the broadcaster) satisfying, but not necessarily inspiring.

This week we focus our attention in a different direction as we examine the work of Mark Viviano. While not quite as visible as some of our other subjects, Viviano is nevertheless a giant in the local sports media landscape. He holds down the midday spot on the city’s largest sports talk radio station (going on right before Anita Marks), and he’s also the sports director at WJZ TV channel 13. In past incarnations he worked for both 98 Rock and WBAL, and he was the guy who broke the story of the Browns moving here to become the Ravens.

As his bio points out, he’s been voted the “best” by both Baltimore Magazine and the City Paper. Seems fair enough on the surface, no?

And yet I wonder. Despite the depth of his experience and breadth of his accomplishments, I never hear people talking about either him or his work. This poll is, for me, as much about satisfying that curiosity as anything else.

So I ask you to vote away, and if you know anyone in the area who might have an opinion don’t hesitate to send them a link and invite them to the conversation. Of course, the usual rules apply: clean, cool, nothing you wouldn’t say if he were across the room.

Also, one quick note: this poll does not deal with Viviano’s radio partner, “the bulldog”. He’ll get his own spot down the road.

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…

First, an update: with 51 votes cast (more, actually, than I expected), Amber Theoharis registers a 75% favorable rating. Congratulations, Amber. Nobody can take this away from you.

On to the next…

With me being on vacation for the week I figured I’d go just slightly off-center for the second installment of the Baltimore Sports Media Approval Ratings. But while Buck Martinez doesn’t get the face time of an Amber Theoharis and isn’t nearly as controversial as some of our future poll subjects are sure to be, he’s nonetheless a big part of the local sports media landscape. He’s a former major league player and manager, and in addition to broadcasting Orioles games as part of the TV crew (with Thorne and Palmer, who will both get their turns) he also works for XM radio, ESPN, and TBS. Not a bad body of work.

(read more about Buck at his Wikipedia page and at his official Orioles bio)

But just because he works a lot doesn’t mean he does it all well. That’s what we’re here to decide, at least insofar as Baltimore sports fans are concerned. So cast your “yea” or “nay” vote below, then use the comments to explain yourself. And, as always, keep it clean, keep it cool, and assume that Buck is probably reading.