Jim Fainter Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. I agree that it is a very good book But it did not make me a convert to the Billy Beane style of thinking. Much of it was very interesting, but I also thought some of his points were sensationalized (that happens in books? lol) trying to put Beane on a pedestal. Parts of the book also show what a bastard he is as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. I agree that it is a very good book But it did not make me a convert to the Billy Beane style of thinking. Much of it was very interesting, but I also thought some of his points were sensationalized (that happens in books? lol) trying to put Beane on a pedestal. Parts of the book also show what a bastard he is as well. i alway thought of him as being one of the better gm around and i thought highly of him and what he accomplished. since the book came out and how as you pointed out sensationalized him and to me he is acting as we should put him on a pedestal on how gm should be judge. that is how i see this, whether on not it is true, i hope now that he falls on his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboz56 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. I agree that it is a very good book But it did not make me a convert to the Billy Beane style of thinking. Much of it was very interesting, but I also thought some of his points were sensationalized (that happens in books? lol) trying to put Beane on a pedestal. Parts of the book also show what a bastard he is as well. i alway thought of him as being one of the better gm around and i thought highly of him and what he accomplished. since the book came out and how as you pointed out sensationalized him and to me he is acting as we should put him on a pedestal on how gm should be judge. that is how i see this, whether on not it is true, i hope now that he falls on his face. We'll see how good of a GM he is when it comes down to trying to keep Zito, Mulder and Hudson long term. I also believe Foulke is a free agent after this year, it'll be interesting to see what kind of offer they give him. It's pretty much assumed Tejada won't be back next year, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. I agree that it is a very good book But it did not make me a convert to the Billy Beane style of thinking. Much of it was very interesting, but I also thought some of his points were sensationalized (that happens in books? lol) trying to put Beane on a pedestal. Parts of the book also show what a bastard he is as well. i alway thought of him as being one of the better gm around and i thought highly of him and what he accomplished. since the book came out and how as you pointed out sensationalized him and to me he is acting as we should put him on a pedestal on how gm should be judge. that is how i see this, whether on not it is true, i hope now that he falls on his face. We'll see how good of a GM he is when it comes down to trying to keep Zito, Mulder and Hudson long term. I also believe Foulke is a free agent after this year, it'll be interesting to see what kind of offer they give him. It's pretty much assumed Tejada won't be back next year, correct? They have already said that they can't afford Tejada next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSOX45 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I just finished the book, and I really enjoyed it. I thought that the author would be taking some shots at KW, but he really didn't. Of course, the book was written just before the Koch/Foulke disaster. The author, Michael Lewis, did cover the Bradford and Durham trades and the Royce Ring draft, but there were no other shots at Kenny. There is no doubt that Beane will let Tejada go, but that's another story. Just wanted to plug the book. I agree that it is a very good book But it did not make me a convert to the Billy Beane style of thinking. Much of it was very interesting, but I also thought some of his points were sensationalized (that happens in books? lol) trying to put Beane on a pedestal. Parts of the book also show what a bastard he is as well. i alway thought of him as being one of the better gm around and i thought highly of him and what he accomplished. since the book came out and how as you pointed out sensationalized him and to me he is acting as we should put him on a pedestal on how gm should be judge. that is how i see this, whether on not it is true, i hope now that he falls on his face. We'll see how good of a GM he is when it comes down to trying to keep Zito, Mulder and Hudson long term. I also believe Foulke is a free agent after this year, it'll be interesting to see what kind of offer they give him. It's pretty much assumed Tejada won't be back next year, correct? Trust me the man's a great GM. I work for the Kane County Cougars, (A's Single A affiliate) We've had three or four starting pitchers get promoted this season already. Remember the names Komine and Murphy. Both were dominating here and are already in AA. Plus don't forget about Joe Blanton. Beane already has options for the future in case he can't re-sign Zito or Mulder. That's why he's a genius. CWSOX45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I wouldn't go as far to call him a genius, but I don't discount him as a great GM either. He is doing a very good job on the limited budget he has, but I don't think he belongs on a pedestal either. Time will tell whether he can hold this thing together or not. Once the normal attrition rate of prospects not making it occurs, and he doesn't have oodles of first round picks like he did last year, then we'll see how things shake out. I do like the way he thinks in some instances and how he is not afraid to go against traditional baseball thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSOX45 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I wouldn't go as far to call him a genius, but I don't discount him as a great GM either. He is doing a very good job on the limited budget he has, but I don't think he belongs on a pedestal either. Time will tell whether he can hold this thing together or not. Once the normal attrition rate of prospects not making it occurs, and he doesn't have oodles of first round picks like he did last year, then we'll see how things shake out. I do like the way he thinks in some instances and how he is not afraid to go against traditional baseball thinking. I believe he is a genius for that reason, balancing his budget and remaining competitive. I can only imagine the Oakland rotation with Harden coming up soon, and not only that imagine if they still had Neal Cotts! That was one move he might want back. However He still is the smartest GM in baseball. CWSOX45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Fainter Posted July 19, 2003 Author Share Posted July 19, 2003 Joe Blanton is the pitcher that Beane drafted after we took Royce Ring, which was a shock to Beane, because he thought we would take Blanton for sure. Now Ring is gone, Blanton is having a good year in A ball, and we have Alomar. Beane has several underlying philosophies, two of which I agree with. One, draft college pitchers instead of high school pitchers; and, when evaluating hitters, OBP is very important (which goes with taking a lot of pitches). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbaho-WG Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Blanton is destroying Low-A ball this year. His WHIP his under one, and his K:IP ratio is nearly one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Fainter Posted July 19, 2003 Author Share Posted July 19, 2003 I think A ball is a little low for Blanton. I mean, he had three years of college and is now in his second year of pro ball. Still, he is a great pitching prospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I think A ball is a little low for Blanton. I mean, he had three years of college and is now in his second year of pro ball. Still, he is a great pitching prospect. I agree. If he is truly a great prospect, he SHOULD be destroying Low A ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I agree. If he is truly a great prospect, he SHOULD be destroying Low A ball. bingo. but either way, he has been successful and yes i would love to have him as a sox gm in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPSOX12 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 This sounds like a great book i think i am going to have to borrow it from a friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 That book was great. It was the fastest I've read a book in a long long time. Heck, its rare for me to finish a book (Damn school reading so freaking boring). I saw Beane about the same way Rex did. He's done some really good things and i like how he is more radical and doesn't just do things based on the baseball standpoint. Still, I agree with Rex, they put him on a Pedestal. Their is a bit of luck in every GM when it comes to getting players. No one can really predict the future, they can only say who has the best shot of being really good in it. In Beane's case he lucked out on a few guys in a sense (His Trio). Now I'll give him credit and all, but I can't think of too many times where three guys just came in and dominated that way. It will be interesting to see what he does this offseason. They lose Tejada and Foulke so they'll have to find a way to get a closer, unless they plan on using Valentine as their closer next year. I also don't think Beane understands what a loss Tejada will be. Its damn hard finding a shortstop like that. I do think Beane may have his eye on Jose this offseason if he could get him cheap. Not that Jose is an OBP guy. The thing I agreed most with Beane is his stance on OBP (Well mainly Deposdesta's). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I think OBP is important, but I don't think it is the end-all stat for evaluating players. I certainly wouldn't take a stance of not giving a crap about how well a guy can play defense just because he gets on base a lot. There has to be some balance between OBP and other stats, influences a guy can have on your team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I think OBP is important, but I don't think it is the end-all stat for evaluating players. I certainly wouldn't take a stance of not giving a crap about how well a guy can play defense just because he gets on base a lot. There has to be some balance between OBP and other stats, influences a guy can have on your team. Definately agree with you on that. There are plenty of other important things, although its nice to have a player that can do all the other things and get on base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Definately agree with you on that. There are plenty of other important things, although its nice to have a player that can do all the other things and get on base. Beane's premise is that OBP can be found cheaply. Guys that play great defense, have lots of speed, etc. are expensive. He believes that those talents are overvalued and he can't afford them with his budget. So he tries to load his lineup with as many high OBP guys as possible, with a few that have power, in hopes that they can score enough runs to beat other teams. Even though he detests the stolen base, you know he would like to have speed on the basepaths that can take extra bases, turn singles into doubles, etc., but he can't afford it because of the high value that is placed on speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hotsoxchick1 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 havent finished the book yet (almost done though) so dont give away the ending ok......lol......and hey cwsox45 just curious here.....what do you do with the cougars????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 havent finished the book yet (almost done though) so dont give away the ending ok......lol......and hey cwsox45 just curious here.....what do you do with the cougars????? The butler provided the knife to the evil stepsister. She did it. Then she ran off with the butler so they could live happily ever after in a trailer park in Remlap, AL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 havent finished the book yet (almost done though) so dont give away the ending ok......lol......and hey cwsox45 just curious here.....what do you do with the cougars????? The dog dies in the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 The butler provided the knife to the evil stepsister. She did it. Then she ran off with the butler so they could live happily ever after in a trailer park in Remlap, AL. ahhh but she was a tramp and didn't deserve the happy ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSOX45 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 havent finished the book yet (almost done though) so dont give away the ending ok......lol......and hey cwsox45 just curious here.....what do you do with the cougars????? HSC I am currently an intern for them. I work all the gamedays and each gameday I get assigned a different task, one day may be on field promotions, while other days I may have to work in the Kid Zone (a interactive playground) I'm currently enjoying it and it gives me an chance to get a taste of Sports Management. CWSOX45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDF Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 HSC I am currently an intern for them. I work all the gamedays and each gameday I get assigned a different task, one day may be on field promotions, while other days I may have to work in the Kid Zone (a interactive playground) I'm currently enjoying it and it gives me an chance to get a taste of Sports Management. CWSOX45 sweet deal, learn and remember this time. have a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSOX45 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 HSC I am currently an intern for them. I work all the gamedays and each gameday I get assigned a different task, one day may be on field promotions, while other days I may have to work in the Kid Zone (a interactive playground) I'm currently enjoying it and it gives me an chance to get a taste of Sports Management. CWSOX45 sweet deal, learn and remember this time. have a blast. Will do, after this internship I hope to intern for a major league team. CWSOX45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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