Gentlemen, Start Your Blenders... er, Engines

By BostonMac, Section Other Sports
Posted on Tue Feb 20 2007 at 11:44 AM EST
More on: NASCAR, Clint Bowyer, Daytona, redneck (all tags)

By Ryan McGowan

On Sunday afternoon, I rediscovered my Southern roots.

OK, I lied.  I was born in Rhode Island and grew up in Massachusetts.  I fit in south of the Mason-Dixon line about as easily as Charlton Heston at a vegan convention.  But for one day, I was Southern.

(2 comments, 1162 words in story) Full Story

Believe it, Folks; The Tigers Are Living Their Destiny

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Sat Oct 14 2006 at 9:44 AM EST
More on: Detroit Tigers, Oakland A's, ALCS (all tags)

Maybe it's because they took it hard to the franchise of evil incarnate, the New York Yankees, the vaunted "Murderer's Row and Cano" that was supposedly going to mash its way through the 2006 playoffs en route to a coronation in the Bronx for a 27th World Series title.

(10 comments, 1014 words in story) Full Story

RPI Index All Stars - AL and NL

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Tue Jul 11 2006 at 11:58 PM EST
More on: All-Stars, statistics, MLB (all tags)

By Ryan McGowan

I devised a system of ranking players in each league based on their relative standing within their league in ten offensive categories: batting average, home runs, runs batted in, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, bases on balls, doubles, stolen bases, runs, and hits.  I then looked to the inspiration of the college football and basketball polls for the scoring system; a first-place ranking in any one of the categories gets a player 10 points, a second-place ranking is worth 9, all the way down to 1 point for a tenth place ranking in their league.

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Midseason "Moneyball" All-Stars - American League

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Tue Jun 27 2006 at 5:43 PM EST
More on: MLB, payroll, All-Stars, Moneyball, Billy Beane (all tags)

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.

(4 comments, 1288 words in story) Full Story

Damon Signing No Blow to Sox Fans

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Thu Dec 22 2005 at 9:37 AM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

(5 comments, 1218 words in story) Full Story

Sox 2004 Playoffs DVD Review

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Mon Sep 12 2005 at 5:11 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

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Thoughts on "Mannygate"

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Mon Aug 08 2005 at 11:16 AM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

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East Coast Baseball Fever - Conclusion

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Mon Jul 11 2005 at 9:04 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

(3 comments, 1221 words in story) Full Story

East Coast Baseball Fever

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Mon Jun 27 2005 at 1:38 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

(1 comment, 1242 words in story) Full Story

Mike from Arlington Named New Sox GM

By BostonMac, Section MLB
Posted on Mon May 30 2005 at 7:48 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

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.

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