Billy Beane’s three wise men have turned stooge
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
When Moneyball came out in the spring of 2002, many career baseball men bristled at the book’s high brow approach embraced by the young guns seeking to take over the front offices of Major League Baseball.
Files upon files of detailed data were to take the place of the keen scouting eye, while stats that had been the hallmark of success for decades were shoved aside in favor of a more relevant means of judging a players value to a franchise. A player’s batting average was considered a passé stat that didn’t really determine the skill of a hitter. Instead the old saying “a walk is as good as hit,” became a virtual mantra among the young GM club seeking a new world order.
At the fore front of this group is Oakland GM Billy Beane, the subject of the offending Michael Lewis book. Following the A’s throughout the 2001 off-season, Moneyball explored the methods that allowed Beane to suffer extensive personnel turnover while still fielding a team that contended year after year. Using OBP as the primary tool to gauge a batter’s worth, Beane assembled patient offensive clubs that put the ball in play and wore pitchers down. Forget that many times these players lacked any other offensive skill. The philosophy was aimed at getting into the opposing teams bullpen and wearing down their staff for the length of a series.
With playoff appearances in four out of five seasons, it’s hard to argue with Beane’s success. Along with a staff comprised of several Ivy League educated number crunchers, a new cult of personality is slowly seeping its way through both MLB circuits as Beane’s minions begin branching out looking to make their mark for several other clubs, both in large and small markets.
Three of Beane’s prized pupils have left the nest, seeking to spread the master’s gospel. Their level of success has thus far ranged from wildly successful to dreadfully ineffective. Let’s take a look these three GM’s and how the Moneyball theory has fared outside of Oakland.
Theo Epstein- A hometown boy who took the GM post at 29 years old in the wake of the Red Sox sale to bean counter John Henry and his group, Epstein went from the boy genius who broke an 86 year curse, to the boy blunder who failed to re-sign three of the top players who got the Sox to the promise land: Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, and the heart and soul of the infield, Orlando Cabrera. The first two may well prove to be shrewd moves, but the decision to replace Cabrera with Edgar Renteria quickly was deemed a disaster. Since then Theo has failed in consecutive seasons to add any player depth at the July 31 deadline, and famously traded a young workhorse starter (Bronson Arroyo) for some supposed untapped potential named Wily Mo Pena. Judging by the recent boos reigning down on Fenway, it appears the honeymoon is over for Epstein.
J.P Ricciardi- After getting the green light to almost double the Blue Jays payroll for 06,’ JP claims that a $70 million dollar stipend is not enough for the Jays to contend in the American League by winning the 95 games usually required for a post-season berth. Instead of filling holes (which there are many) on the Toronto roster, Ricciardi went Glen Sather with his new found money and over spent his bankroll on an untested stopper, and a hot-headed, elbow inflamed starter whose contract will be impossible to move if the Jays fell out of contention- which they did. Memo top JP: Why don’t you spend a little of Ted Rogers dough on a proven manager, rather than a former bullpen coach who threatens fisticuffs at the first sign of player discord.
Paul DePodesta- If you see a thirty something year-old guy wandering around the winter meetings with a dunce cap emblazoned with the Padres insignia, that would be our Paul. After blowing up the first place Dodgers at the deadline four years ago by trading Guillermo Mota and Paul LoDuca for Brad Penny, DePodesta turned a confident contender into a demoralized also-ran. His signing of Chan Ho Park to a $15 million dollar contract and his inability to develop a single everyday prospect led to this prodigy being shoved out the door with three years remaining on his contract. Now just a lowly assistant to club president Sandy Alderson in San Diego, it’s rumored that Paul must attach an electronic tether to his ankle upon entering Padre headquarters in case he finds himself within 100 feet of the clubs cash vault.
Last nights Tiger game was a bummer for Punch as he was given the assignment of taking his God son Noah to Comerica Park for his club’s “Team of the Week” night. For a recap of this soaker and some Tiger news and notes check us out little later tonight.
original clip art image appears courtesy of www.iband.com