By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

The Dice-K Effect continues to be felt all around the Boston sports scene and the latest example is NESN’s late-Monday-afternoon announcement that both Ken Macha (a former Japanese league player and friend and former boss of Terry Francona’s at the Oakland A’s) and WMUR sports reporter Naoko Funayama will be joining the NESN team.

According to the release: “Macha will join Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, Red Sox legend Jim Rice and former first baseman Dave McCarty as part of the network’s rotating cast of studio analysts for the NESN’s one-hour pre-game show. . . and the network’s post-game shows . . .His first appearance is scheduled for Friday, May 4th before the Red Sox take on the Twins in Minnesota.

“Macha managed the Oakland A’s from 2003 through 2006 where he compiled a .568 winning percentage with two A.L. West division titles. He served 5 years as a coach in the Red Sox organization including 2 years as the manager of the Pawtucket Red Sox. As a player Macha was a corner infielder who spent 6 seasons in the big leagues with Pittsburgh, Montreal and Toronto as well as 4 seasons in Japan playing for the Chunichi Dragons.

“. . . Funayama will make her debut as a NESN reporter on Wednesday, April 11th delivering reports to both NESN’s pre-game show and NESN SportsDesk focusing on the stories surrounding Daisuke Matsuzaka and his impact both on and off the field. A sports reporter and anchor for WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire, Funayama has been covering all the Boston sports teams since 2004 and has also covered the Boston Marathon, NCAA playoffs and NASCAR. She is a graduate of Williams College and holds a graduate degree in journalism from Boston University.”

The Funayama move is a slam dunk for NESN, which will now have an even larger advantage over its competitors with (what we have to assume) is a Japanese-speaking reporter on their Dice-K coverage. Although Funayama’s translation ability is not mentioned in the release, it’s safe to assume she will be able to speak directly with Matsuzaka and quickly become Dice-K’s own, personal Tina Cervasio. Or is it the female Pedro Gomes of ESPN to Dice-K’s Barry Bonds?

The release, though unclear, leaves the impression that Funayama will continue her role as a sports reporter and anchor at WMUR.

Macha will need to prove that he can criticize his buddy and former bench coach, Francona but word from hsi audition with ithe Network was that he was able to be both critical and insightful, so there’s reason for optimism with Macha joining Tom Caron.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmedDOTcom