Inside Access with Jason LaCanfora and Ken Weinman

Mark Viviano: You'd rather just win playoff games than have All Star Game selections

WJZ's sports director joined the show to discuss the exciting next few weeks in Baltimore sports. He talks about the Orioles being snubbed from the All Star Game, the upcoming Cubs/Yankees series', some plans as his retirement approaches, and much more.

Duration:: 15m
Broadcast on:: 08 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

This season Instacart has your back to school. As in, they've got your back to school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back to school supplies, like backpacks, binders and pencils. And they've got your back. When your kid casually tells you they have a huge school project due tomorrow. Let's face it, we were all that kid. So first, call your parents to say "I'm sorry." And then download the Instacart app to get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes all school year long. Get a $0 delivery fee for your first 3 orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order additional terms apply. We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to. Or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently. With offline maps and on-trail navigation. Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. I'm Anna Garcia with True Crime News, the podcast. Every week, True Crime News covers breaking crime stories and the fight for justice. Listen to and follow True Crime News, the podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Yes, he's a Hall of Famer and he still is working. So we said, you know what? We want to talk to Mark Viviano once again. Sports director, WJZ channel 13, which I saw on social media. You're starting a trend there, John 13. Viv is other other seem to be retiring. But Viv, thanks as always for joining us. We appreciate you. Let's start with this. How surprised are you? The or is only got three all-stars. Oh, surprise. I anticipated it would be more given one, the team standing in the American league with the best record. You just kind of size up some of the statistics of those who are qualified candidates. And I think there's an argument to have as many as five or six. Three would seem like extremely low end and I gather, you know, it is something to talk about. It's, I think we all know why they're playing baseball. It's to win games and win a World Series. The all-star stuff, I don't want to completely dismiss it, but I'll just say this in my household, my eight-year-old votes, I don't. So, and he voted, he votes, he loves his Orioles. So, I mean, that's cool. Nothing to get too upset about, but if there is something they can use from this to say that, you know, it gives them a little extra motivation and God love them, go do it. But, you know, I just, I had a thought. So, I did the research, the last six times the Orioles have had four or more all-stars voted or named. I didn't win a single playoff game any of those years, including last year. So, you'd rather just win playoff games, right? I mean, and they, and they, you know, I can't say for sure, but this is a good team, guys. My goodness, they're good. And that's what matters. What will matter in this, this, this little, and who knows? You know, there's bound to be an Orioles who gets picked as a replacement too. You have to believe some of those guys are on the first to be called when somebody says they can't make it to the all-star game, so there's that. But, you know, all that matters is, you know, getting yourselves into October and winning games in October. And this, this team is going to make some moves on the pitching side, fully expect that to happen, to put themselves in a position to make a strong run into October and not go over October as we have seen for some of these past years where they've had a lot of all-stars. I'm kind of entertained by the fact that, like, for weeks, we've been talking about how they need to get better in the back end of the bullpen. And now we're having this conversation that Craig Kimball has been the biggest snob like, but I thought we needed more help, but here's this guy that's been, let's face it, he's been pretty dominant since he got his job back. Right, and I think kudos to him. But I think Michael Elias would tell you, you never have enough relief pitching, you certainly never have enough starting pitching, and those would be the areas in which this team is going to make some moves. And speaking of moves, I mean, kind of to your point here, the two biggest acquisitions they made prior to this season were Corbin Burns and Craig Kimball. Well, one's an all-star and one should be an all-star, so that's two for two. That's pretty awesome. And you have the best record in the American League at the all-star break. You obviously have, you've had some significant injury attrition with the loss of your starting pitchers and, obviously, Danny Coulomb in the bullpen. But what you have seen too among the position players is how well, Heston-Kerstad and Colton Kouser have stepped in to fill a void that for periods of time, Cedric Mullins and Hayes were not holding up, you know, to their standard. You can say, you know, the Jackson Holiday call-up. That's certainly fizzled, but that doesn't mean anything about his long-term viability. So, Mike Elias and his team of front office experts continue to just, they continue to play this extremely well. And what I hear when the talk is of, they got to go get some guys. They're well-positioned, and it is time now to kind of graduate from. We've rebuilt and we're happy with winning a lot of games from April through September, and it's time to start making hay in October. That kind of moves them toward, you know, something we talk about with the Ravens every year. We know you're good. We know you're going to go to the playoffs. Now, win some playoff games. I mean, Lamar Jackson would tell you, for sure, having as many MVP trophies too, as career playoff wins too, does not sit well with him. He wants to win a Super Bowl. These guys want to win a World Series. Again, well-suited to do it with some additions coming. This is going to be a fun second half. Well, fun week coming up with the Cubs and Yankees to begin with. And this season Instacart has your back to school. As in, they've got your back to school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back to school supplies, like backpacks, binders and pencils. And they've got your back. When your kid casually tells you they have a huge school project due tomorrow. Let's face it, we were all that kid. So first, call your parents to say, "I'm sorry." And then download the Instacart app to get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes all school year long. Get a $0 delivery fee for your first three orders while supplies last. Minimum $10 per order additional terms apply. We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to, or the succulents that adorn our homes, nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently. With offline maps and on-trail navigation. Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. I'm Anna Garcia with True Crime News The Podcast. Every crime tells a story. Every story demands justice. True Crime News The Podcast covers breaking crimes, investigating high profile and under the radar cases. Every week we dive beyond the headlines, exploring the effects of violent crimes on victims and search for justice. We hope you join us as your weekly source for True Crime News. Listen to and follow True Crime News The Podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can rewind the tape. What I tell you about the Yankees a month ago. They're just not built. They're so clunky. They're old. They're going to have injuries and now it's Rizzo and it's Jen Carlos Stanton. Keep an eye out for Garrett Cole given what he went through this. I mean, that is just a clunky organization. They've got two of the brightest stars in baseball. But it was like 10 out of 10 times. I'll take the Orioles over the Yankees. 10 out of 10 times. And obviously you've got to add to your pitching staff there. But I'd take them. I'd certainly take their starting nine 10 out of 10 times even with a judge and Soto. I absolutely would because it takes nine or at least eight. So I would do it. If it's kind of crazy, Ken and I were talking prior to the show. I mean, heck could the Red Sox catch the Yankees? I've been saying that. The two hottest teams, the two teams to look out for are the Red Sox and the Astros. Those are two teams. And if you want to, I don't know if the Rangers have fallen so far back that as they start to get their pitchers back that they could be, you know, make some noise, maybe get in, you know, make a run, get in. But yeah, I'd say the Red Sox are real. Why? The Red Sox, I used to describe as clunky as well. They used to just kind of be big salary, veteran guys. Hey, they are no salaries because they had some great years. Look how different they are now. They kind of built more like a race car with, they've got athletic guys. They've got versatile guys. They've got guys who can run. They still can't feel though. That is a problem for them, but they can pitch. No, Boston's real. And I've kind of been saying, I kind of expected them to catch the Yankees and I'm going to stick with that. Viv, training camp starts in 12 days. Is it true? You scheduled your retirement just before the start of training camp because of your disdain for practice at football. Boy, you read that one. Well, kind of. I mean, I mean, to be honest with you, I mean, knowing that I was transitioning to my next chapter, which was not being a broadcaster. I thought it best as someone who's done this job for a long time that we have someone in position to introduce and start covering spring training training training camp. So, yeah, in addition to the fact that having covered the NFL, I was thinking about this, the first NFL training camp I ever covered was 38 years ago. It was the Chicago Bears coming off a Super Bowl victory with head coach Mike Dica with Walter Payton, refrigerator Perry, a linebacker named Ron Rivera. And my first interview was with a rookie quarterback named Jim Harbaugh. That was in Plattville, Wisconsin in 1986 and Harbaugh was a rookie. I was a rookie and there was plenty more Harbaugh to cover in my career after that. From that day on, guys, I still don't, I get the hype about training camp. But it's kind of the point now, like, I think about training camp in Westminster when Ray Lewis was laying guys out. They were playing football. Now, there was a reason they did because it's football and that's how you practice football. Now, there's a reason they don't. It's football and you shouldn't practice football like that because you have to play 17 games and it's not worth it practicing hard. So when I go to football practice, I'm watching touch football. I don't know how to describe or judge what touch football is. I've said it before. It would be like going to Sarasota and the Orioles play slow pitch softball and I'm supposed to tell you who's doing well. I don't know. They're not playing the game. They're going to play when the games count. So I don't know when the games count. You've got my full attention and interest. And sadly, the only news that comes out of training camp is if a cart's on the field. That's really it. You know, we can't say, "Hey, Justin Tucker was 12 or 12." Yeah, but nobody was rushing. He's a great kicker. Lamar Jackson was 14 for 14 on passes. Yeah, but they weren't blitzing him. They couldn't. It's like, I get it. That's how they prepare. I've never made a deal of it. I've never pretended to know or think that it was a big deal. It is for the coaches. It is for the players, but for us as fans and media, I think we kind of make stuff up. That's just me. Liv, what's going on at WJZ Channel 13? I want to invite your listeners to tune in to WJZ in our six o'clock news tonight. I did a story on a local men's recovery program helping up mission. And the guys get together at 5.30 in the morning, three days a week to go for a run. It is therapy for them. It is part of their recovery from addiction and homelessness. And they run through the city and they see addiction and homelessness. And they come back and they plug back into their program. I was up with them early in the morning last Wednesday. They're amazing men. They inspire me. And it's just another way to show sports and what sports can do for people at very different levels, other than the highest levels that we usually talk about. Marc Viviano, always great, man. Thank you so much for your time as always. We appreciate it. You know it, guys. Always good to talk to you. Be well. Thanks so much. I'm trying to figure out what to eat for dinner yet again. With nor sides and bouillon as you're not so secret ingredient, you can skip the drive-through and do dinner at home. Nor taste combos provide a menu of delicious, affordable, and well-balanced meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less. Visit nor.com to get quick and easy recipe ideas for your home-cooked weeknight dinners. It's not fast food, but it's so good. I'm Anna Garcia with True Crime News, the podcast. Every crime tells a story. Every story demands justice. True Crime News, the podcast covers breaking crimes, investigating high-profile and under-the-radar cases. Every week, we dive beyond the headlines, exploring the effects of violent crimes on victims and search for justice. We hope you join us as your weekly source for True Crime News. Listen to and follow True Crime News, the podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.