Why Moneyball reminded me of JFK

I FINALLY saw Moneyball last night.
I never got around to seeing it in the theater. You'd think I'd be there as it combined a passion of mine (baseball stats) and a passion of my wife's (looking at Brad Pitt.)

But it didn't happen. And I popped the DVD in last night and my wife was asleep before they traded Jeremy Giambi.

So much for it being entertaining even without knowledge of baseball.

I know a lot of baseball fans who did NOT like the movie. Some were people who just didn't buy Billy Beane's philosophy or thought he was overrated.

Others pointed out some of the factors of the A's success in the early 2000s that were left out.

That bugged me a little as well. I mean while the A's made the playoffs in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, they had Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. Having one of those three start 60% of your games MIGHT just be a bigger reason for a 103 win season than Scott Hatteberg taking a walk.

And of course the elephant (no reference to the A's mascot intended) in the room is of course the steroids. Why is getting on base so important? So those home runs would be 3 run shots rather than solo shots. (Speaking of shots where are the shots of Tejada shooting up?)

And yeah, baseball lifer Art Howe being reduced to an emasculated bumbler might be a bit cruel.

But I put that aside and enjoyed it the same reason why I like Oliver Stone's JFK.

If you watch Stone's movie as a factual film, your head will resemble Kennedy's in the limo. (Too soon?)

There are leaps in logic in the film and fictitious characters created to connect the dots. And The Magic Bullet is demonstrated with two people who are NOT sitting in the position that Kennedy and Connelly were seated in the car!!!

At first I hated the film.
But now I love it. I don't watch it as a history lesson. I watch it as a mystery movie. And with that in mind, it is a fascinating and very skillfully made mystery film that features Kevin Bacon dressed as Marie Antoinette in one scene (as all good mysteries should.)

That's how I view Moneyball.

It was a compelling underdog story. It was the story of a guy who had no choice but to try something different and drastic to win.

Yeah there was no Peter Brand but rather he was named Paul DePodesta. But it is more interesting to see a jock like Brad Pitt paired with a very unathletic Jonah Hill.

Sure the whole fight over Scott Hatteberg and his playing time was exaggerated, but it made his walk off homer all the more dramatic.

Brad Pitt was great and he was pitch perfect as a failed player turned floundering GM.
It was like The Social Network, but with baseball.

So yeah, I dug it.
In fact I feel a little guilty that I was rooting for the Twins in the 2002 Division Series!

If I knew that Billy Beane had an adorable daughter who sang "The Show" by Lenka, I would never have been rooting against the A's!

Future date night at the Sullivan home... Moneyball

Seriously, it is the PERFECT date film for me.
I get to watch baseball... my wife gets to watch Brad Pitt.

What more could we want?

It's a good preview. It looks like The Social Network for baseball.

Now of course I thought the movie would go something like this:

Billy Beane drafts Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito... has a bunch of guys on steroids in the lineup and wins the Division a few times but makes it out of the Division Series once.

But that's not as good of a story.

Movie looks good.
I'll buy some Milk Duds for my wife.

Hunter and Prey

Right now there are several teams that need a hitter for the lineup with July approaching...

One of those teams is the New York Mets, whose GM has a less than stellar reputation when it comes to making deals.

And a team with a hitter to deal is the Oakland A's with Matt Holliday. And their GM, while still without a pennant, is a shrewd enough dealer that Steven Soderbergh and Brad Pitt want to make a movie about him.

Now the A's are... um... not quite as good as I predicted. And Holliday isn't tearing up the AL, but he IS just a few years from an MVP type season.

And the Mets need a bat... and so do the Cubs... and so do the Giants... and even the Yankees could use a corner outfielder.

I have a feeling Beane will be reminding Minaya that on an hourly basis. 

And a division that is quite winnable is just sitting there (especially with Santana throwing another good game today.)

But the Marlins are right behind them... the Giants are looking stronger... and the Mets could miss the playoffs for the fourth year out of five under his leadership.

Can he afford that? Can he afford ANOTHER near miss? Can he NOT pull the trigger?

Oooo those Ghosts of 2006 are still there.

Beane has nothing to worry about.

He could deal with the Cubs or Giants if things don't work out with the Mets.

The Tigers could use another stick. So could the Angels.

And if there is no deal to work out, Beane will sit back, let Holliday walk and collect the two draft picks.

But he knows there is a wounded animal out there... and he's waiting for the right moment to pounce.

It will probably happen after a bad loss where they needed a big hit but Fernando Tatis couldn't deliver.

BEANE: Hey Omar... tough loss. Looks like you could use another bat.

MINAYA: I know what you are doing Beane. I'm not going to make a big deal just to appease the fans now.

BEANE: Yeah I know... I was just calling you to tell you I think the Giants are probably interested in Holliday. 

MINAYA: The Giants?

BEANE: Yeah. They want to pad their Wild Card lead. And who knows... the Cubs seemed eager.

MINAYA: The Cubs?

BEANE: Yeah. Their management needs to show their fans they mean business. And in Wrigley he'll find his stroke again.

MINAYA: I've got a plan.

BEANE: Oh yeah I saw it. Inexperienced kids or imports whose average age is older than the Supreme Court. Hey! It almost worked in 2007 and 2008. Maybe 3rd time is the charm! Hold on, I have a call coming in. I think it is Cashman.

MINAYA: What do you want?

BEANE: Let's start with Fernando Martinez.

MINAYA: No way! He's the future.

BEANE: The future! That reminds me. When the season ends, do you want to join me and the missus the first week of October? We "Non playoff teams" need to stick together.

MINAYA: OK... fine. Martinez. But no other big prospects. I have a long term plan for a home grown Mets team.

BEANE: Hold on. The Phillies are calling.

MINAYA: I'll give you Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores, Bobby Parnell and a player to be named later!

BEANE: I'll name the player NOW? Mike Pelfrey.

MINAYA: NO WAY!

BEANE: Wait hold on... Ruben Amaro just stopped by my office.

MINAYA: Take Pelfrey.

BEANE: It was a pleasure doing business with you.

And that my friends will be a full lion.

Sinking ship

On Thursday May 28th, I said the A's HAD to fire Bob Geren... if for no other reason than to shake the team up.

They are 1-4 since.

Only a 9th inning homer by Adam Kennedy on Sunday (after the A's blew a 4-0 lead) prevented a 4 game sweep in Texas.

Now they are only better than the Nationals.
They are on pace for 99 losses.

Meanwhile the Rangers are in first place with Ron Washington at the helm.

That being former A's third base coach Ron Washington.

That being former A's third base coach Ron Washington who was a candidate for the A's managing job in 2007 that instead went to Bob Geren.

It is now fascinating to think how bad the A's can fall...
And how TERRIBLE my prediction can wind up!

Well that was pathetic, Oakland

A few days ago I called out the A's and demanded they sack Bob Geren.

They had a big 4 game series coming up (I mistakenly called it a 3 game set) and any hope for the A's to crawl back into it was resting on showing up for this set.

They had 8 games to make up... could they cut it down?

They got swept in a Day/Night Doubleheader (which is almost impossible) and today really showed a lot of heart in a 14-1 massacre.

It's not even June and the A's... the team I picked to win the World Series... are done.

Cooked.

They are 11 games out.

They are the worst team in the American League.

Only the Nationals are worse in all of Major League Baseball.

The only question is should they deal Matt Holliday or have him play out the season and pick up the draft picks?

As for Bob Geren... keep him. He's supposedly great buddies with Billy Beane.

It's going to be really lonely in Oakland, especially in September where I am predicting there will be several sub 1,000 crowds at the Coliseum. 

Billy is going to need a friend or two.

The Harden trade was right for both the Cubs and the A's

The Rich Harden to the Cubs trade is one of those rare moves where I think both teams made the right move and did what they had to do.

The Cubs need to do this.
This is their 2004. In 2004 Theo Epstein said enough is enough, pushed all the chips to the center of the table in a go for broke "we need to win RIGHT NOW" season and ate the lousy Thanksgiving dinner at the Schillings.

Cubs fans are getting a little less cuddly.
And the Thomas Paine level pain is getting worse.

And oh yeah, the Brewers... the f---ing Brewers got the biggest fish in the trade pond.

The Cubs fans have already sat through the disastrous 2003 series against Florida... then see their two companions in futility win the World Series with the Red Sox and crosstown White Sox... then saw their rivals win with the Cardinals in 2006 and then the Red Sox picked up another for good measure.

To then hear it from the Cheeseheads up north while their search goes into a second century would be too much.

They need a pitcher to win now, even if he flames out and is worthless in 2009.
(Ring a bell, Mark Prior?)

Which brings us to the A's.

You can't say, think or type the name Rich Harden without saying the words "when healthy."

- When healthy Rich Harden would be a Cy Young contender.
- When healthy Rich Harden would be the A's ace
- When healthy Rich Harden would enjoy a nice meal at Sizzler.

He should go to City Hall and legally change his name to "Injury Prone Rich Harden" just to make it official.

And there were times that Harden's trade value was so low that he'd probably have to settle for the sequel rights to The Love Guru and a flat can of Sprite for him.

So now he gets Boston native Sean Gallagher and 3 other guys for him knowing that his body could fall apart faster than the black knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

So good for Billy Beane for trading when he had value.
Watch the A's win the Division with Gallagher leading the way while Harden is due to go on the DL in 3.... 2.... 1

The innings Billy Beane regrets

The A's have had three terrific runs since arriving in Oakland before the 1968 season.

The first saw the A's win five straight division titles between 1971 and 1975 and became the first team not called the Yankees to win three straight World Series.

Tony LaRussa's squad was almost as formidable, winning 3 straight pennants between 1988 and 1990 and winning the 1989 title. They also won the division in 1992.

Most recently and least likely of all was the Billy Beane run where the A's made the playoffs every year from 2000 to 2003 and then again in 2006.

But the most recent group not only never won a title, but could only win one series, which must be crushing to a franchise that has strangely expected championships.

Since the run is probably winding down and the A's fighting to stay out of the cellar, I must do for Billy Beane what I did for Bobby Cox and find the innings that stand out in an era that came sooooo close.


2000 Division Series Game 5, Top 1st.
The A's had won game 4 in New York with an 11-1 thrashing of Roger Clemens. The teams had to fly cross country that night to play a winner take all 5th game in Oakland. The Yankees seemed to have crushed any hopes of the A's winning by smacking Gil Heredia and reliever Jeff Tam for 6 runs before the A's even came to bat. The A's rallied to make it 7-5 after 4... but both teams were shutout the rest of the game and the Yankees advanced, leaving the A's to what would have happened if they put a goose egg up on the board in the first.


2001 Division Series Game 3, Bottom 7th
The 102 win A's were on the verge of sweeping the 95 win Yankees. Trailing 1-0 in the 7th with 2 outs and none on, Jeremy Giambi singled to right. Terrence Long then doubled to the rightfield corner and Shane Spencer's throw home was off target, seemingly tying the game. But we've all seen the clip of Derek Jeter coming out of nowhere relaying the throw back to Posada and getting Giambi standing. Which question is more mysterious? Why was Jeter there or why didn't Giambi slide?

The Yankees would win the game and the next two games to win the series.

2002 Division Series Game 5, Top 9th
The 2002 Oakland A's were the team to beat in the 2002 playoffs. They match the Yankees 103 wins for the best in baseball and had a 20 game winning streak in August to pull away from the Angels. The A's took a 5-1 second inning lead against the overmatched Twins in game one, but the Twins stunningly came back to win the game. The A's responded by winning games 2 and 3 easily. The Twins won game 4 sending the series back to Oakland. When the Angels stunned the Yankees in 4 games, Oakland seemed to have a clear path to the World Series if they won game 5.

The game was 2-1 Twins going into the 9th. A. J. Pierzynski hit a 2 run homer and pre Red Sox David Ortiz drove in 2 more with a double making the game 5-1, Minnesota. Each run would come back to haunt the A's as Mark Ellis hit a bottom of the 9th 3 run homer to make it a 5-4 loss instead of a 4-2 series win.

2003 Division Series Game 5, Bottom 9th

An underrated series that both the Red Sox and the A's seemed hellbent to lose. Game 1 had the Red Sox blowing a lead with 2 outs in the 9th and losing in 12 on a bunt by the A's catcher. In game 3, during my wedding, Eric Byrnes forgot to touch home plate and Miguel Tejada interfered with Bill Meuller rounding third. If either of those runs scored, the A's would have swept. Instead the Red Sox won on Trot Nixon's extra inning homer. Keith Foulke coughed up an 8th inning lead for the A's in game 4 sending it to a wild and underrated game 5.

Pedro Martinez and Barry Zito dueled until a slumping Manny Ramirez hit a 3 run homer to give the Red Sox a 4-1 lead.

The A's cut it to 4-3 and in the 9th, closer Scott Williamson walked the first two Oakland batters. My wife, who had been married to me only 2 days, said "I'm so sorry honey" as it was obvious they were losing. Even more so when Ramon Hernandez put down his second bunt of the series... this one putting the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Derek Lowe came in to try and close (a role he flourished in during the 2000 season but flopped in 2001).

Shockingly manager Ken Macha lifted veteran Jermaine Dye for a rookie Adam Melhuse, who struck out looking. Lowe walked the next batter loading the bases and faced Terrence Long. He too looked at a called third strike ending one of the most underrated 9th innings in playoff history.

2006 ALCS Game 1, Top 3rd

The A's finally got past the Division Series and with Barry Zito on the mound at home, fresh off of his defeat of Johan Santana, the A's seemed ready to win their first pennant for Billy Beane.

With two outs and nobody on in the 3rd, Zito seemed ready to have another stellar outing... when Brandon Inge homered. And suddenly and shockingly the wheels came off of Zito. After the homer he let up a double, then walked the bases full and let up another run.

The A's couldn't score despite putting 2 men on in the bottom of the 3rd and Pudge Rodriguez homered to lead off the 4th.

Zito wouldn't make it out of the 4th inning, leaving with a 5-0 hole that the A's couldn't climb out of. The Tigers would sweep the series, ending on Magglio Ordonez's 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th in game 4.

But it was that third inning that changed the series. Had Zito made it through that inning, who knows? Perhaps he dominates game 1 and game 5. Maybe the A's win that allusive pennant for Billy Beane. All I know is the A's pennant hopes lived and died with Zito. And in game 1 they died.


Pitchers getting bombed early, players not sliding, late rallies squashed, home plates missed... a lot of frustration for a GM who has turned a moribund franchise with a bad stadium and a worse TV deal into perennial contenders.

If only Jeremy Giambi slid.