Author: BostonMac

Ryan is a teacher, writer, journalist, basketball coach, sports aficionado, occasional real estate agent, and political junkie. He graduated from both the College of the Holy Cross (bachelor's) and Boston College (Master's), and knows anyone who has never heard of Holy Cross probably would never have gotten in there anyway. He is an unabashed Boston sports fan and homer who, according to lore, once picked the Patriots to win for 25 straight weeks on the "NFL Picks Show," which he co-hosts with Vin Diec, R.J. Warner, and Burton DeWitt. He is also an original co-host of SportsColumn's "Poor Man's PTI." He is married, lame, and a lifelong Massachusetts resident (except for a brief sojourn into the wilds of Raleigh, NC) who grew up in North Attleboro and currently lives and works in Everett.

MLB General

Midseason "Moneyball" All-Stars – American League

Post author By BostonMac
Post date June 27, 2006
4 Comments on Midseason "Moneyball" All-Stars – American League

By Ryan McGowan

Like my colleague Trevor Freeman, Michael Lewis’ Moneyball is one of my favorite books. For any baseball fan, the inside story of Billy Beane’s quest to change traditional thinking and manage a baseball team based entirely on analyzing statistics and turning the conventional wisdom upside down is a fascinating read. Looking at the 2006 season up to this point, I have chosen a 25-man American League All-Star team that accomplishes the major goals of any team driven by a Moneyball philosophy.

In no particular order, these goals are:

1. Find players who get on base (high on-base percentage, or OBP) and hit for some power (the combination of the two produces a high on-base plus slugging, or OPS, the golden statistic of Moneyball).
2. Pay no attention to fielding statistics.
3. Spend as little money as possible.

Tags all-stars, billy beane, MLB, moneyball, payroll

Boston Red Sox

Damon Signing No Blow to Sox Fans

Post author By BostonMac
Post date December 22, 2005
5 Comments on Damon Signing No Blow to Sox Fans

By Ryan McGowan

My warmest regards for the holidays to all SportsColumn readers. After a long hiatus, BostonMac has emerged from his cocoon of semi-retirement to comment on the Yankees’ signing of Johnny Damon.

Boston Red Sox

Sox 2004 Playoffs DVD Review

Post author By BostonMac
Post date September 12, 2005
No Comments on Sox 2004 Playoffs DVD Review

By Ryan McGowan

The other day I was having a discussion with my aunt about why I love to watch sports. One of the main reasons that came up was that the outcome of a sporting event (the NBA playoffs notwithstanding) is always unknown, that so many variables contribute to the actual happenings on the field, rendering the spectator clueless as to who the winner will be, who the heroes and goats will be, even how long the game will take. (NBC learned this lesson the hard way with the fateful Jets-Raiders game in 1968, forever remembered as the “Heidi” game.) The sheer unpredictability of sports and the complete ignorance of anyone involved as to the future outcome makes for great viewing.

Boston Red Sox

Thoughts on "Mannygate"

By Ryan McGowan

It’s the first week of August, and there is so much to talk about here in the Hub. We have the first place Red Sox, fresh off a recent eight-game winning streak and, we hope, soon to start to creep away from the Yankees and claim the AL East for the first time since the Otis Nixon-Jose Canseco era of 1995. We have the Patriots, coming off three of the last four Super Bowl titles, set to defend their crown with a laundry list of fresh challenges, not the least of which are the absences of Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson, Romeo Crennel, Ty Law, Charlie Weis, and Bill Belichick’s wife. We have the revelation that Rafael Palmeiro’s body has been somehow trying to process the effects of both Viagra and designer steroids, leading one to believe that Raffy’s organs will eventually cry “SYSTEM OVERLOAD” and blow up like the Fembots in the original “Austin Powers.” We have a governor that is convinced that he is going to be your 44th President of the United States and I have heard rumors that the NHL is returning to the ice in the fall.

MLB General

East Coast Baseball Fever – Conclusion

Post author By BostonMac
Post date July 11, 2005
3 Comments on East Coast Baseball Fever – Conclusion

The first part of this story is found here.

Next it was on to our nation’s capital, and the newest addition to the Major League Baseball landscape, the Washington Expos/Nationals, who are inexplicably in first place in a division that also includes the annual NL East champs (Atlanta), the Boston Red Sox old-timers team (Mets), the 2003 World Series champs (Florida), and the perennial underachieving Phillies. Somehow, Curley and I landed a penthouse hotel room at the Alexandria Hilton with a panoramic view of D.C. that reminded me of the view from the Jedi Council room on Coruscant. Or if that image doesn’t work for you, think of Ferris Bueller leaning on the window on the top floor of the Sears Tower, only not quite as high. Either way, we had a fantastic view.

MLB General

East Coast Baseball Fever

By Ryan McGowan

A couple of weeks ago, the blood started boiling in anticipation of summer, and I started to experience what a certain ESPN.com sports writer refers to as the “Tingly Ball Feeling.” I was getting a little stir-crazy in Boston and needed to get out and travel around this great country of ours. It was time for a road trip.

Boston Red Sox

Mike from Arlington Named New Sox GM

Post author By BostonMac
Post date May 30, 2005
No Comments on Mike from Arlington Named New Sox GM

By Ryan McGowan

BOSTON, MA — In an unprecedented move, Boston Red Sox owners John W. Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino announced today that Senior Vice President and General Manager Theo Epstein, who was named GM in 2002 and was largely credited for building the team that finally broke through and won the World Series in 2004, has been replaced in his position by Mike from Arlington, a frequent listen and occasional caller to WEEI sports radio.

Random Thoughts

"Fever Pitch" Sucks

By Ryan McGowan

I tried. I really tried to give “Fever Pitch” a fair shake. I tried really hard not to walk into the movie theater with my mind already made up. I rationalized to myself, “It’s about the Red Sox.” “There’s all these great shots of Boston and Fenway and the Sox players.” “It’s made by the Farrelly Brothers; how could they possibly screw it up?” It didn’t matter. At the risk of sounding too blunt, “Fever Pitch” sucks.

College Basketball

A Madness to Remember

By Ryan McGowan

On Monday night, somewhere in Rockland County, New York, my old college roommate Jim Daly was probably putting a tape into a VCR and recording the NCAA championship game and the subsequent “One Shining Moment” montage of highlights that followed the contest. I am not entirely sure he still takes part in this ritual, but as of our senior year of college in 2000, he had every NCAA title game and “One Shining Moment” on tape since at least the Kansas win back in ’88. The rest of his video collection sometimes caused us to reassess our friendships with him (with movies ranging from “Copland” to “Sixteen Candles”) but the NCAA tapes were a constant for years and years.

All Other Sports

Madness? No- The Way Life Should Be!

Post author By BostonMac
Post date March 21, 2005
2 Comments on Madness? No- The Way Life Should Be!

By Ryan McGowan

It was like the Perfect Storm of scheduling, a windfall in which a succession of circumstances produced possibly the greatest weekend of hedonism of all time. It was a blur of memories of vague colors, with Kelly green mingling endlessly with Carolina blue, Wolfpack red, and Golden Knights… well, gold. Was that the Vermont Catamounts on TV, or did I just order another Guinness? In moments like this past weekend, it was at times impossible to tell.