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2011 Approval Ratings – Tony Massarotti

July 25, 2011 By

Tony Massarotti is the co-host of the Felger and Mazz show on 98.5 The SportsHub.

A Waltham native, Massarotti also hosts The Baseball Reporters on 98.5, and is a Boston.com sports columnist. He joined the Boston Herald as a sports intern in 1989, joining the likes of Michael Felger, Bill Simmons, Michael Silverman and Paul Perillo. In 1994 he started covering the Red Sox for the Herald, a focus he held until he left the paper in 2008. He then joined Boston.com, and in August 2009, he and Felger started their popular afternoon drive show on 98.5, which has unseated long time ratings champ Glenn Ordway and The Big Show on WEEI. Interestingly, Massarotti, like Felger had been a frequent co-host on the WEEI show in the past. The duo signed a new deal with the station in April of this year.

Once a dogged and capable baseball reporter, Massarotti now focuses on playing the contrarian, especially when it comes to the Patriots – a franchise and fan base that he clearly loathes. He has also proclaimed his love for Derek Jeter, and does an absolutely horrible voice impression of Boston sports fans.

Massarotti  has written or co-written several books, including Dynasty: The Inside Story of How the Red Sox Became a Baseball Powerhouse, as well as bios with Tim Wakefield

 

Tony Massarotti 2011 Approval Ratings
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Filed Under: BSM Approval Ratings, Tony Massarotti
  • Rotillo

    You're absolutely wrong, Tony.

    A face for radio, a voice for print and a mind better suited for bitterly griping in a cube farm somewhere instead of on the flagship show of a 9000w sports station.

    Terrible as a sport media member, but hey Chad Finn thinks he's a nice guy. He can join Cafardo and Halloran as allegedly nice guys who have no discernible skills or talent related to their chosen profession.

  • naop

    Disapprove! Makes outrageous generalizations and conjecture for the sole purpose of stirring up the local fanbase. Not a contrarian, just an arsehole.

  • tl;dr

    YARM – You're Absolutely Right, Mike.

  • Kevin

    Has yet to have an original thought on the radio. ‘Throws it out there’ because he’s got hours to fill. Thinks he knows more than Bill Belichick and Theo Epstein. Intentionally pisses off the audience because he gets off on it. IS ALWAYS SCREAMING HIS POINTS!!! Does annoying ‘Bawston’ accent when talking Patriots to make the point he’s smarter than the average fan. (He isn’t.) Liked Grady Little. Thinks the Yankees wouldn’t have topped any offer for Mark Teixeira. Well, doesn’t really think that, but it seems to piss people off, so pretends to think that. Approving Tony Mazz is like approving of cancer.

  • Lance_

    I'll give Masserotti this – he does a great job sniffing Mike Felger's knickers – everything else he's much worse than average. Annoying smarmy voice, lack of knowledge, you name it – the guy is a five-tool tool.

  • J.R.

    The poster child for all that is wrong about today's sports talk/reporting/"entertainment" field. Condescending, deliberately contrarian weasel who brings NOTHING to the table — including knowledge, analysis, or insight. His lame and pathetic "hey, look at me, I'm edgy" schtick wore off 23 months ago.

    My dislike of this azz-clown is only exceeded by my fervent wish that Gresh and Metergerbil both contract a disfiguring STD and/or get hit by a meteor.

    • Tony

      If I could give you 100 thumbs up for this post, I would.

      As for me, Bruce needs to add a "disapprove with extreme prejudice" option to these polls.

      Words cannot express the contempt I have for jokers like Tony Mazz. How on earth did he become so successful in the media field? It boggles the mind.

      • tl;dr

        I wonder the same thing about Dale Arnold.

  • ghost_of_haroldkaese

    He knows nothing more than a intelligent sports fan who pays attention. He has absolutely nothing of value to say or write about football, basketball or hockey. He's a Master of the Obvious.

  • humphey

    Should have stayed out of broadcasting. An irritating voice and an even more irritating habit of just throwing shtt against the wall and seeing what sticks. At least with his columns he tries to make a rational argument, even when I don't agree with it.

  • Winning_

    I approve of Tony on the Baseball Reports but disapprove on F&M. His complete 180 between shows proves his act is a hoax. He has become a puppet for Felger, hammering home his points, so he can appear contrarian and distance himself from who he perceives as Boston "yes-men." Everyone is right, his Boston accent is a joke and somehow he thinks its still original. He becomes less-likable each day, and that show is slowly starting to isolate its audience through mockery and the Felger, as he ends a call with someone who proves him wrong " I've gotta let you go, thanks for the call, keep listening.."

  • Fred

    One of the absolute worst in Boston. I believe this because Mazz used to be a good writer. I believe "the turn" began when he would appear on The Big Show and he was the butt of many jokes.It accelerated when he got his show with Felcher and it's been downhill since then. This is a guy who states that he doesn't watch the Sox, doesn't attend games, and has a vocabulary that is limited to "Yarm!", ripping Boston fans, speaking in an annoying quasi-Long Island, trying to be Boston accent. I would rather listen to Stearns or Burton than Mazz. At least those 2 dimwits enjoy the games.

    • etak

      Felcher

      Heh.

  • Lefty

    Let's face it, he was in the right place at the right time when 98.5 started up. if the story is correct, Felger wanted Merloni in the first place and ended up with Mazz, which is no surprise. On the show, you could put the legendary inanimate carbon rod in the chair across from Felger and the show wouldn't be any different. When Felger is on vacation, Mazz shows clearly that he is incapable of running a show by himself or being the leader at any time.

    In the paper, he's given in to the Boston sports writer axiom of just throwing controversial crap at the wall to get attention. He's not particularly compelling or thought provoking. He just seems to beg for attention as a way of suggesting he's relevant.

    He's probably a nice guy in "real" life, but there's nothing substantive about him in any of his media roles or personalities. There's no "there" there.

    • mike

      "Inanimate carbon rod"! Love it!

  • Lebron

    This is a guy who wrote a column saying baseball just isn't the same anymore because no one asks him for restaurant or movie tips. A jackhole's jackhole

  • itt

    The criticism that sports "journalists" are nothing but envious and angry jock sniffers is a tired old notion. But it's still applicable. A miserable man jealous of the success that smart and driven people like Bill Belichick have had. He's the worst type of person and the perfect voice of the angry minority of Boston sports fans who step outside everyday and assume the sky is falling. When you lack the mental capability to successfully argue even the most ridiculous of Mike Felger's strawmen, you've failed at life. At least he's fat and bald, you know a man of his unjustified ego is bothered by that.

  • latetodinner

    I think the Baseball Reporters hour is the best hour of radio 98.5 produces. I think day in and day out Mazz comes up with provocative topics that usually have not been hammered to death during the day, has good guests and interesting takes. I look at it as akin to long form magazine writing where for that hour Tony Mazz can explore topics he knows about, has done his homework on and then can get other informed opinions to expand the knowledge base. For the life of me I do not understand why neither 98.5 or WEEI can't give us a 4 hour show midday like this.

    Having said that "Evil Tony" or whatever other personality he has when he is on with Mike Felger is just plain horrid. I look at the dichotomy between Tony on the Felger and Mazz show similar to Tony when he covers the Pats versus the Red Sox…he is a different guy. His afternoon radio work is hard to listen to, at times unintelligible and often just plain stupid. Take out for a second his subordinate behavior to Felger…his own ideas don't stand scrutiny. It shows you how bad the Big SHow is with Michael Holley that Felger and Mazz are beating them.

    One last thing regarding Mazz's work on the Patriots. Its clear to me that his venom towards the Pats comes directly from the Patriots control of information and his lack of access which is diametrically different to what the Red Sox do. As such his bitterness at not being "in the know" comes through in all of his writing on the Pats. As a Pats fan we deserve better. I think Mazz is an excellent baseball scribe but he will never get legitimacy as an all around sports scribe if he can't get over his pettiness.

    • Winning_

      Couldn't agree with you more. When I think of what Mazz has become since joining Felger, I think of Dr.Frankenstein creating his monster in a lab to do his bidding.

      • tl;dr

        Mazz is more Igor than Frankenstein's Monster.

        • Winning_

          Stand corrected!

          …….

          Actually now that I think of it, remember Christmas Story, Scott Vargas and his little sidekick Grover that Ralphy called a "toadie." Thats what F&M are. For those that don't know what I'm talking about see this :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgagC4pUmQo

  • brian

    Srong disapprove, whines like a little girl and hasn't had an original thought in years. My favorite Tony Mazz moment was a few years back on the Big Show when Schilling called in one day after Mazz was complaining about players like Nomar not being media-friendly, and Schilling said "It's your job to go out and get the story, not ours to give it to you", and Mazz had no reply. Probably the only time he has kept his mouth shut.

  • L3s

    Naughty Massarotti earns him points. Though it's not his creation, it's freakin' hilarious.

  • Tony

    Oh, and let me say, in addition to what I posted before, that Mazz's rip job on Pats fans in an attempt to run cover for Tomase a few days after his "Rams Walkthrough Was Taped" story was exposed as a lie was the ultimate example of the media herd mentality — protecting one of their own at the expense of castigating the fanbase that these people are supposed to "serve." That fanbase was ticked off at Tomase for basically making up a story that ruined the Super Bowl experience for millions of New Englanders and then dragged the Patriots' name through 3 more months of media anal probing, and so Mazz decided to turn the tables and rip us all in print for being blind, clueless, stupid homers and "fanboys." This clown is beneath contempt IMO.

  • bholmes

    my dog has chew toy that sounds like tony. i find the chew toy more entertaining.

  • rrsafety

    DISAPPROVE!!:

    Follows same formula for every topic in an attempt to be "edgy" (Gross Generalization + Error of Fact = Terrible Radio). A perfect example of his bogus radio formula occurred following the US Women's team loss in the World Cup. Mazz said on air, "And now everyone in America wants to get rid of penalty kicks to win a game. I didn't hear anybody wanting to get rid of penalty kicks when the US beat China for the World Cup in 1999."

    Ahem, MANY MANY people DID think penalty kicks were a stupid way to win a game when the US beat China in 1999. It was all over sports radio for days and days and days. It hurts my head to think of Mazz and his migraine inducing ability to be so wrong and so bombastic at once.

  • Nutcracker

    An upcoming event: Felger turns 50 and goes in for his colonoscopy; when the doctor puts his camera deep into the bowels of Michael Felger, he'll see a smiling picture of Tony Massorotti's head.

    Massarotti = Felger to the 2nd power. Useless.

  • Angry Old Bastard

    DISAPPROVE!…..can't stand the little twerp….that is all

  • Paul

    Yikes…I am indifferent towards him, but I didn’t realize how much he is hated.

  • RussellBellWB

    A douche's douche. Plays the contrarian role only when his boss Felger agrees with him, but doesn't even play the role well. Much like Cafardo, offers no insight or knowledge into the Red Sox, the team he covered for over a decade.

  • toosoxy

    I am not a huge fan. He irritates me most of the time. But sometimes he's on the money. So… I'd say… a 5 out of 10. You know. Except for the days when he's a 1. Um. Yes.

  • APimpNamedDaveR

    I admire him for his childlike optimism and sense of wonder, epitomized by his continued belief that Mark Teixeira had even the slightest intent to come to Boston…

  • SnuffySmith

    Wow, the SportsHub personalities are getting slammed in the poll and they still slam 'eei in the ratings. I guess there is bad and then there is really god awful terrible. Anyone gotten Wolfe's or Kahn's resume in the mail yet?

    • tl;dr

      Boston's kind of weird market. It's one of the few places where the sports media, by and large, hates the teams the cover (or at least they pretend to). People who have positive things to say are dismissed as "homers" and they usually just get drowned out by the bluster of the contrarians.

      We accept it because we haven't had much in the way of even-handed sports reporting. Hysterics is all we know so we just complain without doing much of anything about it (i.e.- not listening to the personalities we hate).

  • etak

    The Big Show when it had Buck and Mazz (or Mazz and McAdam) arguing with each other and sometimes getting legitimately pissed was actually very good.

    I really do like the Baseball Report thing. And I like his writing.

    I just think Felger and Mazz are the most irritating thing in the world. (Aside from Dennis and Callahan and Gresh. So, um, the most irritating thing in the world at this current moment, subject to change.)

    I voted approve, but it was a /really close thing/.

  • Dave Thomas

    Massarotti is Italian for Felger lapdog.

  • John Candy

    I confess to being a big Felger fan. I find him very entertaining and sometimes insightful. Massaroti was fortunate to get the sidekick position on Felger's show. He adds no fresh thinking but apes Felger's thinking. His condescension to the fans is irritating but must have played well to the spoiled baseball players he once covered.
    His baseball knowledge is exemplified by suggesting Drew over Reddick and looking to trade Ellsbury for a bag of balls last year when he was hurt.
    I would be happy if Felger got a cohost who adds to the show rather than a sycophant like Tony.

  • mandb97

    An over dramatic what if drama queen. He has finally given the Red Sox some credit for being a good team. Will wonders ever cease? He has a great disdain for fans. They are beneath him. All you had to do was read his infamous soul bearing column calling Patriots fans sycophants in response to his co-worker John Tomase rightfully being hammered for his Patriots walkthrough disaster. His Boston sports fan impersonation might be done to get laughs but I think it is done more to mock fans. You see, Tony believes he is so much smarter than you. You know nothing compared to him. It drives him crazy when someone comes up with stats that refute his argument. Moneyball stats only work with Maz when he uses them, when others use them you hear Maz say, "What's wrong with RBIs?"

    One more thing, I think the popularity of F&M has nothing to do with talent or personality. It has to do with Ordway, who I think will be asked to leave by years end. Felger and Maz need to know that if WEEI gets it right and puts in broadcasters who has any talent at all then they will deal with the same fate as Ordway.

    • SnuffySmith

      The only problem is that 'eei has become such a train wreck no one with any real talent will go near them. Look at what the pulled together for a midday team.

      When Bob Ryan subs in the AM, it's some of the best talk radio offered in the market. Thoughtful discourse, respect for callers, and talk on a wide range of topics, and he's worked well with just about anyone he's paired with. He doesn't need to bait listeners with off the wall statements to get a reaction.

  • grumpy olddog

    BIG THUMBS UP!!! I was 'iffy' about the Felger/Mazz duo at the start. It took me a while to warm up to them – about the same amount of time I think that it took them to warm up to each other. But now I thoroughly enjoy them as 98.5's "odd couple." I think Tony is better on his Bsaseball Reporter's hour: he picks interesting facets of baseball both as a game & as a business for topics; he's polite & conversational with the callers & he's well-spoken – as befits someone coming from the print medium. But face it, he's meant to play the role of 2nd chair to Feger. And I think he's great! I love it that he puts himself & his, ah . . . "unique" voice out there to be entertaining. Love "Naughty Mazz" & his Mayor Menino interpretations. I still have to turn off the sound occasionally when Felger is on the 4th or 5th repetitionof the same rant within the same program. I might not listen to Felger it he weren't paired with Tony.

  • Jason_Coyote

    There was a time I would have given Tony an approve, back before he went into the business of spouting off his opinions. I actually met him a couple of times back when he was the Red Sox beat reporter at the Herald, and not only did he come across as a good guy, but I also thought he was a fairly informative writer. Then came his rushing to Tomase’s defense over Spygate (while slamming Pats fans in the process), and then landing the fulltime co-host gig at 98.5. Maybe he’s still a good guy and the chicken little radio shtick is just an exaggerated act, but it’s neither entertaining nor funny. His ‘my gosh’ and ‘my goodness’ exclamations couldn’t sound more insincere, and he can’t seem to make any point without shouting (I can only imagine how sore his throat must be after a 4-hour shift). Disapprove and disappointed in what Mazz has become.

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