Moneyball II

[Hendu Style]

It's been more than ten years since the publication of "Moneyball," the best-selling book from Michael Lewis that chronicled the Oakland A's season of 2002. The subsequent theatrical release of "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt, earned six Academy Award nominations.

In short, Moneyball was a hit.

But the baseball landscape has changed significantly since the events of 2002. The gap between small-market teams like the A's and big-market teams like the Yankees has only grown. New stadiums, TV deals, and skyrocketing salaries have stacked the deck even further against the have-not's.

While the A's have toiled away in their outdated Coliseum in Oakland, new ballparks have sprung up in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Miami, Washington DC, San Diego, Minneapolis, Queens, and the Bronx. Following in the footsteps of the Yankees, other sports franchises have cashed in on mammoth television rights contracts. In the AL West alone, the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers have landed deals totaling $6 billion. And teams have been using those billions of dollars earned in the turnstiles and cable boxes by lavishing hundreds of millions on free agents like Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and C.C. Sabathia.

Other small market teams mimicked Billy Beane's "Moneyball" approach, finding undervalued assets and turning them into wins on the baseball field. The Tampa Bay Rays, for example, cobbled together a World Series team in 2009 with an emphasis on defense and speed on the basepaths, two largely ignored traits for baseball teams.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Billy Beane's cheeks would be flush red.

Ten years after writing his career-defining book, Michael Lewis has decided to revisit the A's (with the reluctant blessing of Beane) to pen a new book. But Lewis will not just be following the A's for one season like he did in 2002. This time, the author will be with the ballclub as it fights for a new stadium and TV deal in the Bay Area, and continues to buck the odds in a big market sports world. He will be with the A's as the erstwhile Beane contemplates his future as an overachieving general manager and a minority stakes holder in a moribund franchise. He will be with the A's every step of the way.

This is Moneyball II.

[Hendu Style]

My reasons for writing a follow-up to Moneyball are many. The tagline of the book in 2003 was "The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." In many ways, the tagline still applies today.


The fiscal model for modern day Major League Baseball favors the rich and hinders the poor. It is the only major league sport in the United States that does not have a salary cap. It is the only one that has individually negotiated television rights deals. It's the only one with an antitrust exemption. And it's arguably the only sport that has venues that are perhaps more of a draw than the teams that play in them.

In those departments, the Oakland Athletics are 0-for-4.

With four strikeouts.

The Golden Sombrero.



SALARY CAP:
In the spirit of fair play, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and even Major League Soccer have all adopted salary cap provisions. What fun, the argument is, would it be to see the Dallas Cowboys gobble up all of the talent from teams with less resources? Imagine a universe where Drew Brees (New Orleans) is throwing 65-yard touchdown bombs to Calvin Johnson (Detroit), or handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson (Minnesota). That's great for the Cowboys. Not so much for the Saints, Lions, or Vikings. The salary cap is there for the greater good. Theoretically every team has a chance at winning every year.

No such rule exists in baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers can have a payroll of $233 million. The Houston Astros? $45 million. That's a difference of nine players making $20 million a year. Or, you know, an entire team on the field.


TV DEALS:
Every Sunday, you can watch your favorite NFL team on the tube. Or on a Thursday or Monday night if you're lucky. But you won't be watching that game on your local cable channel. You're watching it on national broadcast television, FOX or CBS on Sundays. NBC on Sunday nights. ESPN on Mondays. NFL Network on Thursdays. Those broadcast rights deals, it should be noted, are negotiated by the NFL on behalf of its owners. For those of you keeping track, that's a cool $27 billion -- yes, billion -- split evenly among the NFL's 32 teams.

Baseball is making big bucks on television as well, but only a select few are seeing the billions instead of millions. You can literally count on one hand the number of MLB teams with a television deal that totals a billion dollars or more. The L.A. Dodgers are at the top of that list with an annual rake of anywhere between $240 to $280 million per season. The teams at the bottom of the list make less than $20 million annually.



ANTI-TRUST EXEMPTION (LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION):
There are antitrust laws in the United States that prevent businesses from monopolizing a given market. As consumers, we have the right to choose between Verizon and Sprint. DirecTV and Dish. Coke and Pepsi. But if you thought Major League Baseball was bound by those same antitrust laws, you would be wrong.

With the help of the Supreme Court, Major League Baseball has held on to its title as the only true monopoly in the United States. You can thank Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis for that. In 1915, he ruled on a lawsuit from the Federal League that claimed Major League Baseball had interfered with its attempts to sign players who were not under contract. Do you think Landis, a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, ruled in favor of the Federal League? Would you be surprised to hear that Landis was later selected as the first Commissioner of Major League Baseball?

The antitrust exemption has benefited Major League Baseball by stamping out potential competitors. The National Football League, though, has received no such exemption and has battled upstarts like the USFL and XFL within the last couple of decades, forcing the NFL to stay on top of its game. Whoever said competition is good for business forgot to tell Major League Baseball.

Competition isn't even welcome within its own ranks in baseball. MLB owners have threatened lawsuits to prevent teams from expanding in what they believe to be "their" territory. Orioles owner Peter Angelos fought for years to keep teams from relocating to Washington, DC, a market that is one hour away from Baltimore. Nevermind that the Cubs and White Sox share Chicago. Or the Dodgers and Angels co-exist in Los Angeles. Or the Yankees and Mets are roomies in New York. Angelos eventually lost his battle, but only after MLB forced the new tenants in DC, the Nationals, to sign a 30-year TV deal with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Angelos just happens to own 90% of MASN, which now broadcasts Nationals and Orioles games.

The A's are now in a very similar fight in Oakland. Although they play in the Bay Area, they are essentially a housemate renting out a small room in a much larger house occupied by the Giants. The Giants have territorial rights to not only San Francisco -- the most populous city in the Bay Area -- but also the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Monterey. The A's? They get Alameda and Contra Costa. That's it.

Amazingly, the A's conceded these South Bay Area territories to the Giants in the late 1980's when the franchise was on the verge of relocating to St. Petersburg, Florida. An 11th hour deal was struck between the two franchises to allow the Giants to explore new stadium sites in the South Bay. The A's received zero compensation for surrendering these rights to what was considered at the time a shared territory.

Now, three decades later, the city of San Jose is suing Major League Baseball to allow the A's to move south from Oakland in what is purportedly San Francisco's backyard. A move would be a financial windfall for the A's, and the Giants know it. San Jose is the tenth-largest city in the United States (Oakland is ranked 45th, somewhere in between Omaha and Tulsa). San Jose also just happens to be the so-called capital of Silicon Valley, the tech-center of the universe. There are mammoth corporate dollars there, most of which are currently spent with the Giants, from luxury suites to marketing agreements with Yahoo! and Oracle.


STADIUM ISSUES:
When folks walk through the turnstiles at ballparks throughout the country, they're not coming to just see a game. They're coming to see the ballpark itself and enjoy the experience. Fenway Park has its iconic Green Monster. Ivy lines the walls at Wrigley Field. AT&T Park in San Francisco has four giant slides through a Coke bottle. Safeco Field in Seattle serves up a $10 "ichi roll."

The A's home field? Any atmosphere at the Coliseum has been stripped away by Mt. Davis, the infamous cluster of seats created solely for the A's co-tenants, the Oakland Raiders. The A's now have themselves a dilapidated multi-sport stadium that is more suited for football than baseball. It's the fifth-oldest ballpark in baseball, and not in a nostalgic Dodger Stadium kind of way.

Which is why the A's are fighting like hell to build a new ballpark which could bring in $100 million in additional revenue every year. They tried Fremont. The deal fell through. They've talked about a new stadium in Oakland, but the city and the team can't seem to find a place that suits both of their needs. Short of relocating to San Jose, Portland, or Las Vegas, it looks like the A's are stuck.



The A's, simply put, are playing in a game that is rigged against them. They play in an undesirable city playing second fiddle to a team that controls an otherwise booming market. They're stuck in an armpit of a stadium. The team is seeing pennies on the dollar from those fans who choose to watch games on TV. Despite all of this, the A's would at least have a puncher's chance if there was a salary cap to bridge the gap between them and the Yankees.

At some point, you would understand if the A's just threw their hands up and quit. Yet, they fight on. The year before I started writing this new book, Oakland managed to win the AL West with 94 wins.

Moneyball was about a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives. Outcasts, misfits, and rejects who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises. That story continues, but it also has changed. Now new challenges await the underdogs. And I can't wait to tell their story. Again.

[Boston15]

Will have to follow this. Can't wait!

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 1
Second Chances

The roster put forth by the Oakland A's prior to the 2013 season is unimposing. Yes, the A's won the American League's West Division the year before, but that title was attributed mainly to a late-season meltdown by the Texas Rangers and some timely A's hitting down the stretch.

In short, 2012 was considered a fluke.

There is not a single superstar talent to be found on the A's 2013 Opening Day roster, and there is little reason to think Oakland will be back in the postseason again any time soon.

"Just like 2002 all over again, eh?" Billy Beane remarks with a smile. The Oakland A's general manager is still the same guy I remember from Moneyball. The hair is a little thinner, the wrinkles are more prominent, but the sense of humor is still there, as is the swagger. He is comfortable in his surroundings, spartan as they may be. The Oakland Coliseum -- or O.co as it's called now -- is remarkably unremarkable, as is Billy's office. The room looks more like a break room than an office, with bobbleheads, CDs, and sports memorabilia scattered about. If this were to be an intimidating negotiating room meant to bring fear and dread to visiting players, it's lost on Billy.

The A's have just arrived in Oakland from Spring Training in Phoenix with a modest payroll of $69 million, the fourth-lowest in all of baseball, ahead of only the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, and Houston Astros. Their current TV deal pays them $39 million annually; a substantial number until you consider it's tied for dead last in baseball and is dwarfed by the $125 million figure shared by the Dodgers and the Yankees. Whatever money the A's are raking in, it's certainly not being spent on their players. Of the twenty-five highest-paid players in the game, not a one resides in Oakland, though are across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco with the Giants: Tim Lincecum ($22 million per season), Matt Cain ($20 million), and Barry Zito ($20 million). By comparison, Oakland's top three pitchers -- Bartolo Colon, Brett Anderson, and Jarrod Parker -- will be paid a combined $9 million for the 2013 season.

The A's, though, have taken on a couple of big salaries, which may be more of a sign of desperation than progress. Playing in the antiquated Coliseum, the A's have had a rough go at signing lucrative free agents. Their two most expensive players are a Cuban defector and a cast-off from Arizona. If a player were to say, "You couldn't pay me enough to go to Oakland," he wouldn't be far off from the truth.

What keeps the superstar talents away from Oakland, though, is what draws other players in. Players like Coco Crisp.

"If I ever traded Coco away, I'd have to answer to my daughter," Beane deadpans. "If there was ever a heart and soul of this team, he'd be it."

Crisp has signed a pair of short-term free agent contracts with Oakland since coming over in 2009. The team has the option of picking up his $7.5 million salary at the end of the season, which makes him the third highest-paid player on the team. That same salary would put him outside of the top-ten on the payroll sheet on the Yankees or the Yankees.

Just as Billy is laughing about Crisp's woefully out-of-hand afro, which seems right at home in a non-conformist A's clubhouse, a physical specimen who couldn't possibly be an Athletic strolls by.

"Hey, Yo," Billy offers from his office, greeted with a nod from the passerby.

Yoenis Cespedes. Formerly of Cuba, where ballplayers have to literally swim with sharks for the promise of millions of dollars to play in the United States. Amateur video of him crushing baseballs 500 feet and leg pressing 1300 pounds caught the attention of scouts, who salivated at the prospect of signing the seemingly limitless outfielder. The A's stunned the baseball world by outbidding several other teams with an astonishing $36 million.

"You hate to heap too much praise on a guy," says Beane with a long pause. "But," he continues, "he's the real deal."

In his first season of Major League Baseball, Cespedes hit a robust .292 with 23 homers and 83 RBI in just 129 games. The gold-chained slugger sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise nameless bunch.

Cespedes will be part of a crowded outfield that includes a bushy-bearded Georgia boy named Josh Reddick, recently-acquired strikeout machine Chris Young, journeyman Seth Smith, and the aforementioned Crisp.

Reddick has turned himself into something of a fan favorite in Oakland, hammering 32 homeruns after coming over from Boston in a trade that sent closer Andrew Bailey to the Red Sox.

"The ladies certainly love Josh," says Beane with a chuckle. "He reminds me of myself at that age."

Perhaps it is Young that is cut more from the Beane cloth than he would care to say. The free-swinging slugger averaged 149 strikeouts per 162 games in 7 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who finally cut bait on the once-promising Young in a 3-team deal with Oakland and Miami.

"Chris is your ultimate high ceiling kind of guy," says Beane. "You know he can give you 20 or 30 homeruns. You just hope at this point in his career, he can start doing it consistently."

Beane has employed a similar "buy low" approach with several infielders, namely Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie. Donaldson was a first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2007, but has never realized his enormous potential. The A's decided to move him from catcher to third base in hopes of finding a place for Donaldson to play at the big league level. Lowrie is also a former first-round choice, bouncing from Boston to Houston before landing in Oakland before the start of Spring Training. In five big league seasons, Lowrie has hit an unimpressive .250 with 35 homeruns in 1148 at-bats. Both Donaldson and Lowrie will both likely be Opening Day starters.

A 40 year-old probably would be Oakland's Opening Day starting pitcher if not for a suspension. Bartolo Colon is just days shy of his 40th birthday, and is playing for his fifth team in the last six years. A positive test for performance enhancing drugs cost him part of the 2012 season with the A's, and will keep him out of the first two weeks of the 2013 campaign.

"Stupid decision and I know he regrets it," Beane shrugs. Oakland isn't a place for second chances. It's a place for third, fourth, and fifth chances. Nobody knows about those second chances than Beane, who reinvented himself as the general manager we see before us today after a comically disappointing career as a player.

If a second chance gave Beane this job, he'll be damned if he won't do the same for a player.


Attached is a preseason preview courtesy of SB Nation...

Notable Numbers
.282: The OBP put up by the combination of the A’s catcher, second base, third base, shortstop, and right field positions. The A’s had their best offense in several years last season, but the team was by no means an offensive juggernaut. The catcher, second base, and shortstop positions were particularly atrocious, and the only things saving the third base and right field spots from complete offensive ineptitude were the occasional power outbursts of Josh Donaldson and Josh Reddick.

Recognizing these flaws, the A’s imported a new catcher (John Jaso) and revamped the infield options with the additions of Jed Lowrie, Hiroyuki Nakajima, and even Scott Moore. They also brought Chris Young in to be part of the outfield mix. Clearly, the A’s are trying to aggressively combat their weak spots from last season in order to prevent a falloff after their surprise playoff run.

41.7%: The groundball percentage of the A’s pitching staff in 2012, lowest in the majors. Getting ground balls is never a bad thing, but the A’s pitchers employed a flyball-heavy strategy in 2012 to good effect. O.co Coliseum’s large dimensions and foul territory make it tough for flyballs to leave the park (9.1% HR/FB, second-best in MLB), and if they stay in the park, fly balls are usually harmless. The A’s pitching staff put up a collective .279 BABIP as a result, tied for third-best in baseball. A.J. Griffin (37.5%), Tommy Milone (38.1%), and Jarrod Parker (44.3%) will return to the rotation this year, and Dan Straily (30.0%) is likely to be around for much of the season as well. Relievers Sean Doolittle (35.1%), Pat Neshek (35.2%), Grant Balfour (35.8%), and Evan Scribner (37.7%) further tilt the 2013 staff in this direction. Don’t be surprised if this group again coaxes a high number of balls into the gloves of their strong defensive outfield.

Key Offseason Moves
Acquired C John Jaso in three-team trade, giving up minor league RHPs A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen and LHP Ian Krol: Cole, Treinen, and Krol constitute a steep price to pay for a catcher who struggles defensively and flails against lefthanded pitching, but Jaso has put up .370+ OBPs in two of the last three years while playing in tough parks, and he busted out the power bat last year with a .180 Isolated power. Given that A’s catchers hit .204/.262/.325 last year, Jaso’s fantastic approach and potent bat should significantly turn around a position that the A’s have struggled at for the past couple of seasons.

Acquired SS Jed Lowrie and RHP Fernando Rodriguez from Houston for 1B/"LF" Chris Carter, minor league RHP Brad Peacock and C Max Stassi: Rodriguez immediately succumbed to Tommy John surgery, so he’s not much of a factor in this deal, but the centerpiece is Lowrie. The switch-hitter, like Jaso, is an uncommonly strong bat for an up-the-middle position, especially in terms of his secondary skills (10.1% walk rate, .167 Isolated Power for his career). He’s had issues staying healthy, with his 97 games last year representing his career high, and it’s fair to question the wisdom of trading Carter and his 137 wRC+ for that, especially with two of Oakland’s top 15 prospects. If Lowrie is healthy, though, he’ll help turn around either second base (.228/.303/.316 last year) or shortstop (.203/.272/.313).

Signed SS Hiroyuki Nakajima to a two-year, $6.5 million deal: Nakajima hit .311/.382/.451 in Japan last year, and has been remarkably consistent over the last six seasons in the Japanese Pacific League. He’s always had averages between .297 and .331, OBPs between .354 and .410, and slugging percentages between .433 and .527, with twelve to 22 homers. The A’s got him for a fairly low-cost deal, and should certainly be able to outhit the punchless shortstop cast of 2012.

Acquired OF Chris Young in three-team trade, giving up SS Cliff Pennington and minor league SS/3B Yordy Cabrera: Young came far cheaper than Lowrie or Jaso, as Pennington was an offensive zero in 2012 and Cabrera has never made much noise in the minors. Young, on the other hand, is an excellent defensive outfielder with a good power bat (career .198 Isolated Power). With Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, and Josh Reddick already around and plenty of Triple-A players lurking, it’s not clear what role Young will play with the 2013 A’s, but he gives the team one of the deepest collections of outfielders in baseball. At the very least, the career .271/.371/.489 hitter against left-handed pitchers should make A’s fans forget about Jonny Gomes.

Depth Chart: The A’s projected depth chart from MLB Depth Charts reflects some areas of uncertainty -- currently, Lowrie as listed as the starting third baseman, with Nakajima and Scott Sizemore in the middle infield, but Josh Donaldson could easily end up as the hot corner starter, pushing Lowrie to a middle infield spot and Nakajima or Sizemore to the bench or even Triple-A Sacramento. Young is also listed as a bench player against right-handers, but it’s possible he could push Coco Crisp if the latter slumps early in the season.

The first four spots in the rotation will go to Brett Anderson, Parker, Milone, and Griffin, with Straily and the surprisingly effective Travis Blackley in a battle for the final rotation spot. The A’s also have decisions to make regarding the out-of-options Daric Barton and Adam Rosales as well as the comeback attempt of Hideki Okajima, who some speculate may push lefty mainstay Jerry Blevins off the roster.
Check out the Athletics 2013 depth chart at MLB Depth Charts.

2013 Outlook: It’s never easy to figure out what a surprise team will do for a second act, but the A’s remain largely young and look stronger on paper than they did a year ago. There are certainly fewer glaring weaknesses on this squad than last year’s, but the AL West will likely be a very tough division to navigate. The A’s could plausibly finish anywhere but last in the West; the keys to their success this season will be avoidance of attrition and avoidance of regression. If they stay healthy and none of their young/prime-age players crater, they’ll contend into September and possibly October, but health woes and sudden downturns could prove harder to overcome for this team more significantly than most first-division squads.

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 2
Sabermedicine

What Billy Beane is to general management and Bill James is to baseball statistics, Stan Conte is to athletic training.

Conte is sitting face-to-face with Billy Beane in a backroom in the Coliseum. It is a cloak and dagger meeting between two of the most analytical minds in the game. Unbeknownst to the A's current trainer, Nick Paparesta, Conte is here to interview for his job.

Paparesta hasn't done a bad job. In fact, he's done a very good job as the A's head athletic trainer since coming on board since 2010. But a stunning four players who would be on the A's Opening Day roster -- closer Grant Balfour, infielder Adam Rosales, reliever Fernando Rodriguez, and shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima -- will all start the season on the disabled list. Billy has always been intrigued by Conte, ever since reading an ESPN article about the trainer and his theories on injury assessment.

"Traditional baseball types tell me to just give up, that this is a waste of time because injuries are mostly bad luck," Conte tells Beane in the dimly lit room. "Twenty-five years ago no one listened to Bill James either."

Conte, much like Beane, doesn't seem like the sabermetrics type of guy. Both Conte are tan, strapping guys. Not the sunlight-deprived, bespectacled sort that is associated with analytical data.

Conte has been at the forefront of sports medicine, trying to prevent injuries, or at least predict them, before they come. Imagine the tornado chasers in Twister. Conte was in the center of a twister himself, when in the 2000's he had the misfortune of being the Giants trainer in San Francisco when Barry Bonds and his entourage ruled the clubhouse. Conte declines to talk about it, but it's clear that he fought an uphill battle to get players' private trainers -- some who were believed to distribute steroids -- off the premises.

He has since moved on to a relatively serene situation with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he has served largely as the team's director of medical services and head trainer for six seasons. Much of the grunt work is done by the team's athletic trainer, Sue Falsone.

Why on earth, Conte is asked, would he leave a cushy job with the Dodgers to tape ankles and spray BENGAY in the armpit of baseball that is Oakland?

"The A's kind of started this whole Sabermetrics thing," Conte explains to Beane. "This is the epicenter of it all. I have some pretty hair-brained ideas about preventative medicine in sports, and frankly I think I would get laughed out of L.A. if I even broached the subject there."

Conte pauses.

"Here, I think I would fit right in."

Conte's seemingly unwinnable quest began in 1996 when he was tasked with lowering injuries on a Giants team that was littered with low-paid, high-age veterans. He immediately sought out data to see how San Francisco's Disabled List compared to othersin baseball.

"USA Today published a list of guys put on the DL every Tuesday, but that was it," Conte says. "This was before everything was on the Internet, so I was trying to track down every paper copy of that newspaper I could find."

A frustrated Conte was in a Giants office on day, only to notice a big red book on a desk from an insurance company in Cincinnati. "It was literally called the Red Book," Conte recalls. "So I ask our CFO, 'What the hell is this?'"

Billy leans in closer, curious to see what this book is.

"And the CFO tells me, 'Oh, the company does a bunch of stuff and they send it out every year,'" Conte says. "I look inside and it had everything: time lost, DL dates, dollars lost. It was unbelievable."

Conte asks what he did with the book.

"I called that company and got every edition I could get my hands on," Conte says with a wink. "At that point, I was the only trainer interested in any of this stuff."


It was a treasure trove of information. He published his findings in The American Journal of Sports Medicine and gave a lecture on the topic at baseball's 2001 winter meetings. Other trainers were angry; they did not want to hear evidence that they might be getting worse at their jobs.

"I was basically run out of there," Conte says.


It's clear at this point that Conte is cut from the same cloth as Beane and James. People in pro sports -- particularly baseball -- have a strange habit of playing it "safe" to avoid being ridiculed by their peers.

Asked how Conte's radical theories have panned out with the Giants and Dodgers, the 53 year-old replies, "I'm still throwing darts. But hopefully I'm moving closer to the board."

Beane leans back in a rickety green office chair. After an uncomfortable pause, he leans back forward and smiles.

"How soon can you start?"

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 3
Fire 'Em All

"February 26th, 1989," Billy Beane throws out to his right-hand man, David Forst. "What happened on February 26th, 1989?"

Forst, a 1998 graduate of Harvard, is Assistant General Manager of the A's. The fact that David was 12 years old on that date is not lost on Billy.

"That was right before Spring Training in the year of the Earthquake Series," David says, as if to stall and feel out Beane for a hint. Beane offers none. "I don't know... we signed Mike Moore?"

Moore, a free agent pitcher from the Seattle Mariners, had indeed signed with the A's that offseason and would go 3-0 in 3 starts while allowing just 3 earned runs in 20 postseason innings, including the '89 World Series against the Giants.

"Nope. Think subtraction, not addition."

Now Forst's interest is piqued. He has lost all interest in the laptop in front of him, on which he had been pouring over a list of potential bargain free agents on the eve of the 2013 season. This is what A's executives do in their office. Look at stuff on computers that nobody else cares about, and pop silly trivia questions at each other.

"Hmmmm," David ponders, thoughtfully tapping a pen to his chin. "Sandy hadn't gotten rid of Jose yet..."

Sandy Alderson, being the A's one-time General Manager. Jose being, well, Jose Canseco. He, of course, was later traded to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Ruben Sierra and pitchers Bobby Witt and Jeff Russell. But that wouldn't happen until 1992.

"Alright, I'll give you a hint," Billy concedes. "It's sports related, but it's not baseball."

"I've got no ****ing clue," David concedes. He is about to begin his 13th season with the Athletics, and his 10th as Billy's top assistant. According to his job bio, his primary duties include helping Billy in player acquisitions, contract negotiations, and player evaluations. He is also Billy's foil.

"Come on, Harvard, don't go down without a fight!" Billy says, goading the former third-team All-American first baseman for the Crimson baseball team.

"Tom Landry!" Bob Melvin shouts from down the hall. The A's manager had apparently been eavesdropping. "Now find me a right-handed bat at first base!"

Tom Landry. Of course. The iconic head coach had been fired by Jerry Jones, who had just bought the Dallas Cowboys. Jones was neither patient nor forgiving. He set out to hire University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson, and wasted little time in axing the only coach the Cowboys ever knew.

"What a ballsy move," Billy comments to no one in particular.

"Kind of crappy, too," David counters.

"Yeah, but that's the cost of doing business," Billy says. "Jerry knew his team wouldn't succeed with Landry as his coach. He knew Landry wouldn't let him play at the table. Landry had all the chips. Jerry could've waited another year or two, but who knows what would've happened? Maybe another NFL team hires Jimmy. Maybe Landry gets the Cowboys to a couple more playoff games and becomes unfireable? Jerry saw his chance and he took it. Guy's got balls."

The aftermath of the Landry firing is the stuff of legends. Four games into the '89 season, Johnson traded runningback Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in a mammoth deal involving 18 players and draft picks. Walker never panned out for the Vikings, while the Cowboys used those picks to get runningback Emmitt Smith, wide receiver Alvin Harper, and safety Darren Woodson, among others. It would later be called "The Great Train Robbery."

Is Billy preparing for a similar trade? He certainly doesn't have the kind of chips that Johnson had to play a high-stakes game of cards.

"We're not making a trade, guys," Billy says, scolding his front office team. "I'm just saying, fortune favors the bold."

So what exactly is Billy hinting at?

"When you've got a philosophy or a vision, you need to have guys around you that will execute it," Billy finally explains. The A's have been down this road before. Scouts, coaches, and players in the past didn't always see eye-to-eye with management and its unconventional philosophies. Eventually, the objectors would be cast away, replaced with people who were more "on board."

"We're going to start doing things a little differently around here," Beane continues. Gee, big surprise. The A's have always been doing things a little differently. "We're going to protect our product even more, and that means we're going to need guys who will put the team and the organization first, even if it's at the expense of wins."

Billy is alluding to his newly-hired head trainer, Stan Conte. In the past few days, Conte has been pointing out managers and coaches within the A's minor league system who have been "misusing" players. Some of the misuse immediately caused injuries, according to Conte. Others, he theorized, might have led to injuries down the line.

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks," Billy says as he stands up, with a stack of papers in his hands. "So we're going to get some new dogs."

Billy starts handing the sheets out to David, along with Director of Player Development Keith Lieppman and Grady Fuson. Ironic for Billy to make the remark about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, since Grady is the poster child for being able to do just that. He was formerly Oakland's scouting director and one of the game's top scouts, but was one of Billy's biggest adversaries within the organization when sabermetrics were brought into the conversation in scouting. Fuson returned to the team as a special assistant to the general manager in 2010.

"The top page is a list of managers, pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and bench coaches who are all available to hire today," Beane says, waving the page in the air for all to see. "These are guys that Stan says handle players the right way."

"Are these guys doctors?" Grady asks sarcastically.

"The second page is a list of managers, pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and bench coaches who are in our farm system right now, who are not handling players the right way," Beane continues, ignoring Fuson.

"We're going to fire 'em all."

Stunned silence. The hand grenade has gone off. Landry has just been fired.

Sacramento River Cats AAA manager Steve Scarsone, pitching coach Rick Rodriguez, and hitting coach Greg Sparks.

Midland Rockhounds AA manager Aaron Nieckula, pitching coach Don Schulze, and hitting coach Brian McArn.

Stockton Ports A manager Webster Garrison, pitching coach Jimmy Escalante, and hitting coach Haas Pratt.

Beloit Snappers A manager Ryan Christenson and hitting coach Casey Myers.

Vermont Lake Monsters A manager Rick Magnante and hitting coach Lloyd Turner.

Phoenix A's rookie league manager Marcus Jensen, pitching coach Carlos Chavez, and hitting coach Juan Dilone.

All twelve of the A's minor league managers and hitting coaches. Four pitching coaches. 16 coaches in all.

"Billy, Scarsone did a hell of a job for us in Double-A," Grady says, finally breaking the silence. "Now, just as we get him up to Triple-A, we're just supposed to fire him?"

"Yeah," Billy responds. "Pretty much."

Liepmann, who has been with the A's for 41 years, has been quiet throughout. But he can hold his tongue no more.

"We just hired Christenson in Wisconsin two months ago," he says. "I don't understand how he can 'handle these guys wrong' if he hasn't even managed a game for us yet."

Billy sits down on a nearby desk and sighs.

"Guys, I get it," Billy says, putting on a pair of glasses as he looks at the dead list. "Hell, we drafted Christenson in 1995. He got his first break with us as a player. This was his chance to get his break as a manager. But I am not going to place some misguided faith in a guy just because I like him or because we owe it to him. This is a business first, and that means that we have to make some tough decisions that are going to hurt."

The others in the room still can't believe what they're hearing. Never in a million years did they think they would be responsible for firing more than a dozen coaches. All in one day.

"Look, we're not completely ****ing them over," Billy says. "We're buying out their contracts. They'll get every penny that's owed to them. I already got the go-ahead from Lew."

Lewis Wolff. The A's owner and managing partner. Oakland's payroll has been tighter than a duck's asshole during the Wolff regime. Right or wrong, Wolff has been reviled in Oakland as an unsympathetic millionaire scheming to get his team out of the Coliseum.

"You mean Lew's just going to pay all these guys off, because it's the right thing to do?" Grady asks.

If money's involved, there's always a catch with Wolff. He made his fortune as a real estate developer and hotel magnate. He didn't buy a stake in the A's for civic pride. He bought them as the centerpiece of a real estate development that has yet to break ground in Fremont, San Jose, Oakland, or anywhere else he's made his pitch.

"There will be a price to pay for this, and it's coming right out of our operational budget for this season," Billy admits.

"How much?" asks David.

Suddenly the focus is on the bottom line, and not on the 16 coaches who've just lost their jobs.

"Seven million," Billy says, scratching the bridge of his nose. "Seven million, one-hundred and ten thousand dollars."

"Jesus, Billy!" Grady screams. "We could've signed Roy Oswalt for $5 million this year, and now you're telling me we're paying $7 million for all these guys not to coach?"

Grady storms out of the room. As the door slams behind him, he shouts that he'll take care of calling the Triple-A guys, but someone's going to have to take care of the rest.

"Alright, guys, let's get to it," Billy says. "I'll start calling our new coaches."

What Billy neglects to tell his staff is that after all of the firings and hirings, the team will be set back $8.6 million. It's a giant leap of faith given his brief relationship with Conte. Billy had walked up to the casino table and bet all his chips on Conte.

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 4
"F---in' A"

By the time the start of the 2013 season had rolled around, baseball itself was just a formality. The firing of the minor league coaches had taken its toll on not only the front office, but also the coaches up and down the minor league system. All were wondering if the axe would fall on them next. No amount of reassuring would put their minds at ease.

Coco Crisp provided some much needed relief and levity during the first month of the season. He provided a pair of walk-off basehits on the way to Player of the Month honors for the month of April by batting .339 with a surprising 7 homeruns and 24 RBI. The 33 year-old outfielder, known more for his defense and baserunning, was among the league leaders in all power categories. He helped spark a 5-game win streak that month, as the A's went 14-14, 2.5 games behind the front-running Los Angeles Angels.

By mid-May, Billy Beane was already hankering for a trade.

"Forsty!" Billy shouts from the break room while pouring a cup of hot coffee. "Get out the List. I want to make a F---in' A trade!"

The "F---in' A" trade, as we learned ten years prior, is a trade that makes other executives around the league think, "f---in' A!"

The List, as it's called, is David Forsty's always-in-flux ranking of players around the league who are not only possibly available, but also an ideal fit for the A's roster.

"What position did you have in mind?" David shouts from his Toyota Corolla-sized office.

"First base," Billy answers.

"Righty or lefty?" David counters immediately. He already knows the answer. The A's already have two left-handed hitting first baseman in Daric Barton (batting .321 in 28 at-bats) and Brandon Moss (.240 with 5 homeruns in 104 at-bats). Oakland has mastered the art of the platoon, matching lefty bats versus righty arms, and vice versa. But in the case of first base, the A's have two lefties and no righties.

"Righty," Billy says as he meanders over to David's office. He hands a cup of coffee over to David, who is clicking away on his mouse.

"Alright, your top five, in no particular are..." David pauses for a drum roll, to which Billy happily obliges."

"Dayan 'The Cuban Tank' Viciedo..."

A 24-year-old homerun machine from... you guessed it: Cuba. He hit 25 homeruns in his first full season in 2012, while striking out 120 times with a .255 average. He's actually been playing outfield for the Chicago White Sox, but could adequately play first base. In a Scott Hatteburg sort of way.

"Michael Young..."

Due to make $16 million in the final year of his contract in Philadelphia, the 36 year-old is well past his prime. But the free-spending Phillies could be convinced to pay much of that salary if the right offer came along.

"Jean Segura..."

The Milwaukee Brewers have turned over full-time first base duties to the 23 year-old, who had come over from the Angels in the Zach Greinke trade the year before.

"Billy Butler..."

Suddenly out of favor in Kansas City, Butler has become expendable with the rise of fellow first baseman Eric Hosmer. Butler's coming off a career year in 2012 (.313, 29 HR, 107 RBI), but his $8 million salary this year has made him a luxury the penny-pinching Royals can no longer afford.

"and Brandon Belt."

A promising 25-year old across the Bay in San Francisco, the Giants haven't been able to decide what to do with Belt, who has superior defensive skills but lacks the power to be a traditional first baseman.

"Alright, alright, alright," Billy says, thinking aloud. "Take Segura off the list. There's no way the Indians are letting him go. Scratch Belt off too."

"Why Belt?" David asks, surprised.

"Because f--- the Giants," Billy shoots back. "That's why."

The Giants and A's have some bad blood between them, enough to fill the San Francisco Bay, over the territorial rights squabble in San Jose. Billy knows any trade he makes needs approval from the owner, and he knows he won't get it from Lew. Not unless he somehow screws over the Giants in a trade, which likely won't be the case.

"That leaves Butler, Young, and Viciedo," David reminds Billy.

"Get rid of Viciedo," Billy says as David makes another mouse click. "Kenny may have made us a trade, but I think Rick is scared s---less of me."

Kenny would be former White Sox GM Kenny Williams, who infamously dealt veteran second baseman Ray Durham to Billy for relief pitcher Jon Adkins in 2002. After getting taken for several lopsided trades by Billy, the White Sox brass essentially cut off communication with Oakland after Rick Hahn took over as GM.

So it's down to the Phillies' Michael Young and the Royals' Billy Butler.

"Who to take, who to take..." Billy asks aloud. David already knows the answer. He usually knows what Billy's going to do before Billy even knows it. Still, he lets Billy work it out himself.

"Where is Philly in the standings?" Billy asks.

19-15. Same exact record as the A's, just by chance. They're 3.5 games back of the red-hot Washington Nationals, who are sporting the best record in baseball at 22-11.

"The Royals have got to be in last place," Billy says, almost as if it's a question. He's right. They have the worst record in the Majors at 11-20.

Now Billy's setting his sights on Butler. Just as David expected.

Billy Butler, former first-round pick in the 2004 Draft. All-Star selection last year at first base. His career batting average has hovered right around .300 over each of the last four years. Any doubt about his power numbers were erased when he bombed 29 homers in 2012. He's a F---in' A Trade.

"Billy f---ing Butler," Billy says to no one in particular.

"F--ing A," David chimes in.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, Billy and David throw names back and forth at each other in rapid fire succession. It really is a beautiful thing. You would swear they were married. At the same exact moment, they arrive at the same exact conclusion.

Chris Young.

Young is the perfect player. His salary figure of $8.5 million is almost a wash with Butler's $8 million this year, and he's got a team option of $11 million, which Kansas City would almost certainly decline in 2014. He would give the Royals a much-needed bat in the outfield next to Alex Gordon in the short term, and they could try to trade him off for prospects come the All-Star break.

The trade also makes plenty of sense for the A's, who haven't been able to work Crisp into the platoon they envisioned, thanks to his torrid start. Most MLB teams carry four outfielders on their roster. The A's have been carrying five with Coco, Young, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, and Seth Smith. Young is the odd man out.

As quickly as that, Billy is on the phone with Royals GM Dayton Moore. Moore, unbeknownst to the A's, has been shopping Butler around without much success. The Yankees had expressed interest with their starting first baseman Mark Teixeira out with a wrist injury, but were unwilling to move much in return. Butler would've been a short term solution and the Yanks would only pay for the value they saw in Butler, which wasn't much.

Billy is selling Young hard, assuring Moore that there's nothing wrong with his centerfielder.

"Coco's just playing to well to find Chris a spot in the field," Billy explains. "His bat is just fine. We tried to stick him in a platoon and he's just not comfortable hitting against lefties alone. He's an everyday player."

Young, in actuality, doesn't need much selling. He's got incredible range and can play all three outfield positions. He hits for power and can steal bases. Young, as it turns out, would've made a perfect fit for the A's if not for Coco's hot start.

The two sides haggle over a couple of prospects to be thrown in to the deal until they come to a resolution. In the end, the A's trade Young, along with three AAA prospects (C Luke Montz, P Brian Gordon, SS Andy Parrino) to the Royals for Butler and low minors outfielder Alexis Rivera.

Amazingly, Billy had been pouring coffee in the break room two hours ago, and now here he is, sending a former All-Star outfielder to Kansas City for another All-Star.

Such is the genius of Billy "F---in' A" Beane.

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 5
The Thrill of the Chase

A week has passed since All-Star weekend. The A's had one more than their usual lone representative at the All-Star Game, sending both Coco Crisp and the surprising Tommy Milone to New York for the American League team.

But back at home, Billy Beane is feeling like anything but an All-Star. His club is in that place where you don't want to be with the trading deadline just four days away. Good, but not great. Okay, but not bad. In July, you want to be either a buyer or a seller. The A's are neither.

They went 49-46 going into the All-Star Break, 6.5 games behind the first place Los Angeles Angels in the A.L. West. Billy hoped a shakeup in the coaching staff -- swapping out big league hitting coach Chili Davis for AAA Sacramento coach Rudy Jaramillo -- would help jumpstart the offense. It has not.

Since the break, the A's have gone 5-4, being held to two runs or less in three of their previous nine games. The A's rank first in baseball in defensive efficiency and second in the A.L. in runs allowed. But Oakland is in the middle of the pack in runs scored and has clubbed just 106 homeruns as a team, better than just four other teams in the league.

"We need help at second base," David Forst tells his boss. "Weeks and Sogard are killing us."

It's true. The A's had hoped Jemile Weeks, once considered their untouchable middle infield prospect, would turn around his career after batting .354 in Sacramento. A call-up to the majors has been met with a cold dose of reality: a .196 average and just 1 stolen base in 34 games. Eric Sogard hasn't been much better, hitting .245 through Oakland's first 82 games while playing every infield spot outside of first base.

"Weeks could still turn it around," Billy half-heartedly tells his protégé.

Perhaps. Weeks has hit safely in each of his last six games, though he's gone just 6-for-23 in that span.

The A's problems going beyond second base. They're carrying six starting pitchers on their 25-man roster. Dan Straily has been the odd man out in the rotation, despite going 4-1 in six starts this season with a 2.14 ERA. Billy doesn't want to send him back to AAA, but Bob Melvin doesn't have a spot for him in the rotation.

Oakland also has a first base problem. The mid-season arrival of Billy Butler forced the A's to send Daric Barton to AAA. That has created a logjam in the farm system, with several promising first basemen sitting a rung or two lower than they should in the minors.

One problem at a time. Billy's mission on this day is to improve the situation at second base. Luckily for him, the Phillies have been shopping around Chase Utley. Philadelphia has fallen out of playoff contention and isn't planning on re-signing Utley to an extension after his contract expires at the end of the season.

"Ruben, my friend," Billy says to Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. on the phone. "How are things in the Liberty City?"

After some quick small talk, the two GM's are talking players. Ruben brings up Ryan Howard; Billy's not interested. Billy brings up left fielder Domonic Brown; Ruben's not interested.

"How about that second baseman?" Billy asks, fishing for information. "I don't think we could afford his salary, but what kind of offers have you been getting?"

Ruben says he's been on the phone with several serious suitors, but Billy knows it's BS. Nobody's willing to part with the prospects that the Phillies are looking for.

"Because I'm such a nice guy and I like you so much," Billy starts, "Why don't we see if we can send you a few pitchers for Utley?"

Billy's opening offer is starting pitcher Bartolo Colon and a pair of relievers, Pat Neshek and Fernando Rodriguez. But the Phillies have to pay the rest of Utley's $15 million salary this season.

No way, says Amaro. He's interested in the pitchers, especially Colon, who could be a nice insurance policy. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia's ace, hasn't seen the field this year with a torn labrum. The Phillies hold the option on Halladay's final year of his contract, and if he's not up to snuff, Colon's contract could be extended. But Amaro isn't about to pay the rest of Utley's salary.

"How about half?" Billy offers. "You pay half of Utley's salary, and I'll give you a couple potential replacements for him up the middle."

The names Adam Rosales and Grant Green are both brought up. Billy is more than happy to part ways with Rosales, but Ruben insists on adding Green, the Triple-A shortstop, too. And the Phillies will send $5 million in cash to help cover the rest of Utley's salary.

"Sold," Billy says with a smile.

The impact of the trade was felt three days later in a season-defining game against the Blue Jays in Oakland. The Jays took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, when Uggla helped key a fierce seven-run rally, capped off by a walk-off, game-winning 3-run homer by Jed Lowrie in an 8-5 victory.

And as the A's were about to find out, this wouldn't be their last dramatic finish with the Blue Jays.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 6
Fit to be Tied

With Chase Utley in the lineup, the A's became a completely different team. The new second baseman would drive in 35 runs in 56 games, as the A's tried in chase down the front-running Angels in the American League West. But Billy Beane wasn't the only one wheeling and dealing in the West.

The Angels were determined not to give up ground in the division standings, swinging July trades with the Yankees for Kevin Youkilis (the A's coveted "Greek God of Walks"), and the Cubs for pitcher Edwin Jackson. Their already loaded roster, which featured Josh Hamilton (.292, 51 HR, 129 RBI), Albert Pujols (.275, 36 HR, 93 RBI), Mike Trout (.289, 21 HR, 86 RBI), Jared Weaver (14-8, 3.57 ERA), and CJ Wilson (19-9, 3.36 ERA) -- had now added two more serviceable starters.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers were still trying to recover from a spectacular meltdown from the year before. When outfielders Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin went down with injuries, another collapse seemed inevitable. But Rangers GM Jon Daniels made the bold decision to trade first baseman Mitch Moreland and prospect Luis Sardinas to the Milwaukee Brewers for centerfielder Carlos Gomez (.271, 18 HR, 85 R, 41 SB). Though Gomez would go on to hit just .228 over the course of 52 games with Texas that season, the acquisition had the unexpected benefit of handcuffing the A's.

Billy, it turns out, was also looking to make a trade with the Brewers. Milwaukee was desperate for help at first base, and Billy was prepared to send the Brewers a package of first baseman Daric Barton, outfielder Seth Smith, shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, minor league first baseman Miles Head, and reliever Jerry Blevins. All for Milwaukee closer John Axford and $3,000,000.

Why didn't he do it?

"They insisted on Brandon Moss," Billy says with a grin.

He can smile about it now, only because that trade could've actually done the A's more harm than good. Axford would've proved to be costly, considering his pedestrian 26 saves and 3.52 ERA. Instead, the A's stuck it out with the struggling Sean Doolittle. The southpaw wound up converting 14 straight save chances to close out the year, while lowering his ERA from 4.18 to 2.96 from early August to late September. Blevins, another component in that trade, also performed well, posting a 2.87 ERA in 45 appearances as the A's bullpen finsihed second in the American League in earned run average.

The second half of the season was not without its hurdles. Josh Reddick tore his labrum after just 86 games and would miss the rest of the season. "Can't Miss" prospect Jarrod Parker, well, missed... going just 9-13 with a 4.80 ERA in 30 starts and 187.2 innings pitched. The A's offense hit a meager .257 at the plate (10th out of 15 teams in the A.L.) with a paltry 165 homeruns (11th).

Despite that, manager Bob Melvin milked every ounce out of this team that he possibly could. All-Star outfielder Coco Crisp had a banner year, hitting .282 while setting career highs in homeruns (16), runs batted in (73), and stolen bases (47). Tommy Milone, perhaps the most unheralded among the A's young pitchers, led the A.L. with 19 wins, along with a 3.02 ERA in 223.1 innings pitched.

But it all would come back to the Utley trade, which provided the spark that Billy was looking for at the trade deadline. Just 4 games above .500 at 54-50 at the time of the deal, Oakland would go on to win 36 of its final 58 games of the regular season. That includes a blistering 19-9 September. They would need all of those 19 wins. The Angels finished with a record of 93-69 to claim the West division, a scant 2 games better than the Rangers, who nabbed the first wild card spot at 91-71. The 90-72 A's finished one game behind Texas, which in any year before 2012 would've meant the end of Oakland's season.

Thankfully, Bud Selig and Major League Baseball had instituted a new Wild Card format the year before, adding a second playoff team to the mix. For a guy who has never been a champion of the little man, Bud certainly gave the A's a lot of help on this one. Their mark was tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the second and final Wild Card.

The A's and Jays, as it turns out, would have to play each other in one final playoff to end the regular season and determine the A.L.'s second Wild Card. Oakland would face arguably its most daunting task in postseason history: two one-game playoffs (the regular season tie-breaker, and then a one-game Wild Card) to go to a Divisional Series.

The underdog A's were poised for another trip to the playoffs. All that stood in their way was a team that got their following the exact opposite fiscal model.

[beachbomer]

Hendu,

Love your writing style, I have followed all of your dynasties. Keep up the good work!!!!!

[Hendu Style]

CHAPTER 8
Youthful Exuberance

Toronto is the yin to Oakland's yang. While the A's have gotten their 90 wins on a tight wallet and savvy moves, the Blue Jays have virtually bought their way to their 90 victories.

Pitchers R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes and outfielder Melky Cabrera were brought over within the last year via trade or free agency, bringing with them a whopping $191.8 million in contracts. The Blue Jays were taking on contracts that few could afford, with the hope of overtaking Boston and New York in the free-spending American League East. To a certain extent, it has worked. While the Jays fell 2.0 games short of the Red Sox for first place, they have positioned themselves nicely for a spot in the postseason.

The one-game playoff would be held at the O.co Coliseum, one day after the A's had completed a three-game sweep of the Mariners in Seattle. Dan Straily, who had logged a combined 177.1 innings in his brief big league career, would toe the rubber opposite former #5 overall pick and veteran pitcher Brandon Morrow.

Billy Beane is a picture of relaxation in the A's clubhouse two hours before gametime. It's not confidence. It's something else.

Having nothing to lose.

Billy has beaten the odds once again. Win or lose, his team had reached the 90-win mark for the second season in a row, after a span of five straight non-winning seasons. He has done this with a payroll of $80.1 million... barely nudging out the Pittsburgh Pirates ($80 million for 84 losses), and well ahead of the cash-strapped Miami Marlins ($51.6 million for 93 losses) and Houston Astros ($41.5 million for 108 losses).

Every game that the A's play from here on out this season is a bonus for Billy. Literally. As a minority owner of the team, Billy stands to profit from each game beyond 162 that his team plays in the postseason. The average regular season ticket fetches $25 in Oakland. In the postseason? That number could jump anywhere from $100 to $500. Winning, simply put, is good for business.

But right now, Billy's not focused on his net worth. His eye is on Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion. The first baseman has hit 40 homeruns this season, bringing his two-season total to 82.

"Look at that son of a bitch turn on this pitch," Billy says, queuing up a YouTube video of Encarnacion as he hammers a mammoth 440-foot homerun to left at the Rogers Centre. "Tillman never has a chance!"

Chris Tillman is the unwitting accomplice in Encarnacion's highlight-worthy homerun. This year alone, Encarnacion has gone 4-for-8 against the Baltimore Orioles pitcher. All but one of those hits cleared the wall for a homerun.

"Oh, boy, Straily's going to have fun pitching to this guy," Billy says with a cackle.

Straily is not an ideal candidate to take the hill in this kind of situation. He's never pitched in the postseason. But manager Bob Melvin has no choice. He went through A.J. Griffin, Brett Anderson, and Tommy Milone in the Seattle series just to force this one-game playoff. His choices are Straily, who was sensational in 18 starts (12-3, 2.54 ERA), and Jarrod Parker, who struggled to a 4.80 ERA in a disappointing sophomore campaign in the bigs.

"I like the decision to pitch Straily; I really do," Billy claims, shutting down the laptop. "He's young enough not to give a s--- and know better."

Plus, Melvin can keep to the rotation. If he goes to the Cy Young candidate Milone or Griffin or Anderson, they'll be going on short rest and his rotation would be certifiably screwed in the playoffs.

"You really want the division crown," assistant general manager David Forsty answers, when asked who he would have pitched in this tie-breaker. "That's the answer."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Billy dryly tells his minion. "Of course you want the division. But that's not a luxury you have here."

"We would've if you had listened to me about Davis!" David retorts to his boss with a sly grin.

Ah, yes, Chris Davis. The guy everyone says they claim they knew about, but never followed through on. Chris Davis is the 27 year-old slugger who came out of nowhere to smash 49 homeruns this season, after hitting a total of 77 in his entire 5-year career prior. Forsty pleaded and pleaded for Billy to trade for Davis when he could be had for a song in 2011. The Orioles swooped in and dealt middle reliever Koji Uehara for Davis and pitcher Tommy Hunter.

"He'll never let that one go," Billy remarks.

It's all a ruse for Billy and David to keep themselves distracted from the task at hand. Baltimore, for all its savvy in plucking Davis from Boston, is nowhere close to the postseason. The A's are one win away from going to the Wild Card.

Straily's postseason experience -- or lack thereof -- is exposed in the first inning, when he is drilled for back to back singles to lead off the game by Anthony Gose and Jose Reyes. Gose easily scores from third on a fielders choice to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

This could be a long night.

34,915 fans have packed into the O.co. There has been plenty of bad blood between A's owner Lew Wolf and the City of Oakland over the team's pursuit of a new stadium. But tonight, nobody's thinking about San Jose. Or a new ballpark. This raggedy piece of s--- stadium, half committed to football, half to baseball, is the greatest place on earth tonight.

Yoenis Cespedes leads off the bottom of the second with a single on a 2-0 fastball from Morrow. Jed Lowrie follows suit in as seven-pitch sequence with a line drive to left. Cespedes hustles into third and suddenly the A's are in business with runners on the corners.

John Jaso, the A's platoon catcher, steps up to the plate. He would've been a perfect fit on the 2002 Oakland team. A patient hitter, he's walked 71 times in 132 games this season for a very respectable .386 OBP.

He sends a bullet to center on a 1-1 pitch and Cespedes trots home from third for Oakland's first run of the game. It's a 1-1 ballgame. Seth Smith tries unsuccessfully to advance the runners on a bunt when Lowrie is cut down at third.

But then the wheels come off for Morrow. The former bonus baby, who grew up in nearby Santa Rose, is about to get railroaded by the weak-hitting, tight-fisted Oakland A's.

Brandon Moss singles to load the bases. And then Chase Utley happens. Well struck ball into the gap in right-center, Jaso and Smith come in to score, as Moss slides safely into third. A two-run double, and the A's have the lead, 3-1. The trade that Billy nearly broke the bank to make has paid off ten-fold. The carnage continues until Coco Crisp is tagged out at home on a bases loaded RBI single from Cespedes, who started the inning in what seems like hours before.

6-1 A's after two innings of play.

Encarnacion's 41st homerun of the season in the fourth is an afterthought as Straily pitches into the 9th in a brilliant 8-hit, 2-run, 9-strikeout effort.

A's win, 9-2. They're headed to the American League Wild Card to take on the Los Angeles Angels.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 9
For Whom the Bell Tolls

Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is playing. The O.co is rocking. Sean Doolittle has come on to close out the ninth inning in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

The A's are three outs away from going to the 2013 World Series.

Their 3-2 series win against the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS is a distant memory. Nobody seems to care that the A's have blown a 3-1 series lead here in the ALCS to open the door for the Detroit Tigers. The same Tigers who eliminated the A's in last year's ALDS, mind you.

A.J. Griffin has pitched the game of a lifetime, holding Detroit's vaunted batting order to a scant one run on four hits in eight innings of work. The second-year pitcher Griffin comes out for a curtain call in the 9th inning as manager Bob Melvin turns the game over to his closer with a 3-1 lead.

Standing in Doolittle's way is the heart of the Tigers order:
Miguel Cabrera (.339 average, 39 homeruns, 116 RBI in the regular season), Prince Fielder (.294, 29 HR, 90 RBI), and Victor Martinez (.303, 17 HR, 87 RBI).

Cabrera flies out to Coco Crisp to center to lead off the inning.

Two outs away...

Fielder, a hulking, menacing monster at 275 pounds, strides to the batter's box. He never sees a strike, quickly drawing a five-pitch walk.

One on, nobody out. Here's Martinez. Get this guy out, and you're home free. Four straight balls later, and Martinez is jogging to first on back-to-back walks.

Son of a bitch.

Get a grip, Doolittle. This is Game 7 of the ALCS. Roll up a double play. Get this guy to fly out. JUST PUT THE BALL IN THE STRIKE ZONE.

Doolittle pumps in three straight fastballs. Pop foul. Called strike. Strikeout swinging.

ONE OUT AWAY...

The harmless John Mayberry Jr. is at the plate. 2-0 count... he punches a weak nubber off the plate. Derek Norris, brought in as a defensive replacement in the eighth at catcher for John Jaso, bobbles and clutches at the ball, not even mustering a throw. Fielder to third. Martinez to second. Mayberry Jr. to first.

Bases loaded, two out. Doolittle, sweat pouring off of his forehead, sees Grant Balfour hurriedly warming up in the bullpen. Jhonny Peralta strides up to the plate. He's no Cabrera or Fielder, but right now he's King F---ing Kong as far as Doolittle is concerned.

Doolittle nervously peers in for the sign from Norris. The guy who has just loaded the bases on a fielding error.

Fine, live with it, Doolittle. Strike this mother f---er out.

First pitch... fastball... just off the outside corner. Ball One.

Second pitch... another fastball... fouled straight back. Peralta's all over it.

Third pitch... fastball on the corner... he's not biting. 2-1 count.

Fourth pitch... curveball, and a swing and a miss. Strike Two! 2-2 count.

ONE PITCH AWAY...

Fastball... Peralta juuuuust catches a piece of it, and fouls it behind home plate.

Mount Davis is swaying out in right field. This has to be registering on the Richter Scale. "LET'S GO A'S" chants cascade throughout the stadium. The A's are one game... one out... one strike away from going to their first World Series since 1990. It was on this same exact field that the A's were swept away by the Cincinnati Reds in the Series. Oakland figured its team would get back here soon enough. But that was 23 years ago. LaRussa, Canseco, McGwire, Eck, Stew, and Rickey are long gone.

Doolittle takes a breath to try and regain his composure. It's no use.

JUST GET UP THERE AND BLOW THAT F---ING FASTBALL BY HIM. ATLANTA'S WAITING FOR US IN THE WORLD SERIES.

LET'S. DO. THIS.

Sean Doolittle cranes his neck toward home plate for the sign. He shakes off the curveball. He grips the baseball tighter than he's ever held on to anything in his life. He unleashes holy hell on Jhonny Peralta.

High flyball to left.

Yoenis Cespedes is tracking it.

It's high...

Cespedes is at the track.

It's deep...

Cespedes is at the wall.

It is... OUTTA HERE!

An earthquake might as well have opened up the middle of the Coliseum and swallowed everyone inside of it. Dead silence. The only noise to be heard in the entire stadium is coming from the Tigers dugout, and from Jhonny Peralta, who is racing around the bases as if he's on fire.

Fielder comes in to score. Mayberry Junior comes in to score. And Peralta jumps emphatically on home plate, the final exclamation mark on a grand slam homerun with two out in the top of the 9th inning. Detroit has just taken a 5-3 lead.

Balfour comes in from the bullpen and quickly retires Omar Infante on a groundout. One at-bat too late.

If the baseball gods were kind -- and trust me, they are not -- they would've mercifully allowed the side to be retired in the bottom of the ninth, so as not to delay Detroit's inevitable celebration. But with two outs, Jed Lowrie brings the A's back from the dead when he dumps a flyball double into the corner in right.

Norris, the goat of the ballgame, comes to the plate almost apologetically, representing the game-tying run. In any other situation, Norris would assuredly be pinch-hit, but he's the only catcher remaining with Jaso out of the ballgame.

Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit sails three successive balls out of the strike zone. Norris finds himself in a 3-0 count. Brandon Moss is waiting on deck; the game-winning run. The fans are starting to buy in again. So are the A's. Cespedes, Crisp, Billy Butler and the rest are all perched on the dugout steps, rally caps and all. Now it's Benoit who is sweating bullets on the mound.

Benoit fires a dart of a fastball right down Broadway. The bat never leaves Norris's shoulder. Strike one.

Doolittle is nowhere to be seen in the dugout. He's already in the clubhouse, but even he can't take his eyes off the TV screen.

Another fastball, again, right down the pipe. Norris is frozen in his tracks. Strike two.

Joe Buck is going through his usual hyperbole of what a Tiger win would mean for the city of Detroit.

F--- that, A's fans are thinking. How about Oakland? Low-wage employees... high crime... pissed on and dumped on for the last decade by robot owners and a do-nothing Commissioner's Office... this makes it all worth it.

Benoit knows none of that. Nor does he care. He pipes another fastball, only this time Norris manages to wake out of his zombie state to muster a feeble swing.

Strike 3.

Ballgame.

[themonk]

Developed a soft spot for the Oakland A's after reading "Moneyball." Will definitely follow this dynasty. By the way, great writing style. Beautifully written...

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by themonk

Developed a soft spot for the Oakland A's after reading "Moneyball." Will definitely follow this dynasty. By the way, great writing style. Beautifully written...

Thanks very much. I'm re-reading Moneyball now. As an A's fan, it's impossible to put down. Thanks for reading the "sequel." I hope you enjoy it.

[themonk]

Originally Posted by Hendu Style

Thanks very much. I'm re-reading Moneyball now. As an A's fan, it's impossible to put down. Thanks for reading the "sequel." I hope you enjoy it.

I'm enjoying it... Re-reading "Moneyball," too!

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 10
Shop 'Til You Drop

By any measurement, the 2013 Athletics baseball season was a successful one. The A's had two All-Star representatives in Coco Crisp and Tommy Milone. They had two Gold Glove winners in Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes. Bob Melvin was the American League Manager of the Year.

Yet that grand slam finish in Game 7 of the ALCS made all of those accomplishments seem insignificant. It exposed the A's for the small market team that they really are. Sean Doolittle, truth be told, had no business closing out a game that would decide a league championship series. That role is left to the Mariano Rivera's and Jonathan Papelbon's of the world. The A's had to cut corners, and paid dearly when it counted most.

Billy Beane set an agenda for the offseason prior to the 2014 season:

• Add a legitimate closer to the bullpen; preferably not a left-hander.
• Acquire a defensive-minded catcher with some offensive pop.
• Find a capable replacement for the outgoing Chase Utley at 2B.
• Sign at least two players to extensions to avoid arbitration.

Billy found two closer candidates in Carlos Marmol and Mark Montgomery. Marmol was a bargain basement find in free agency, still recovering from reconstructive surgery on his elbow. Marmol closed out 14 games for the Cubs in 2013 with a sterling 1.27 ERA, and will be the ultimate high-risk, high-reward signing. He's expected to be back on the field by the All-Star Break. Montgomery saved 35 games for the Yankees AAA affiliate in Scranton, before being sent over to Oakland in exchange for C John Jaso, RF Michael Taylor, and minor league pitcher Nolan Sanburn.

Jaso became expendable when Billy made one of his boldest moves in recent memory, shipping 25-year-old pitcher Brett Anderson (14-14, 3.73 ERA, 224.1 IP), reliever Jerry Blevins (2.87 ERA in 45 appearances), and catcher Derek Norris (.229, 8 HR in 192 at-bats) to Baltimore in exchange for catcher Matt Wieters and $5 million in cash.

Wieters is coming off a horribly disappointing 2013 season in which he hit just .222 with 15 homeruns in 107 games. Billy has always been the master of the "buy low, sell high" axiom, and Wieters could be his ultimate acquisition. Wieters was a 2-time Gold Glove and All-Star catcher in Baltimore, and Billy is banking that a sprained thumb and sprained ankle are to blame for the down year. Unless he's traded, Wieters will be under contract with Oakland through the next three seasons.

The A's found their replacement for Chase Utley at second base by acquiring veteran Alberto Callaspo (.270, 10 HR, 59 RBI with the Angels in 2013) from Los Angeles in exchange for outfielder Seth Smith. Callaspo will compete with Jemile Weeks for the starting job, though there is a belief that Jed Lowrie will be moved over to second base eventually to make room for shortstop prospect Addison Russell.

Lowrie, who hit a respectable .259 with 17 homeruns in 150 games in his first year in Oakland, signed a four-year extension worth $14.7 million back in June. Josh Reddick also inked an extension, signing a 5-year, $28 million extension after injuries limited him to a sub-par .216, 9 homerun, 39 RBI campaign in 86 games in 2013.

Not on the shopping list, but definitely on the radar was landing a slugger to add some power to the A's weak-hitting lineup, and give Melvin some options with the lineups. Billy found the perfect candidate when he swung a 3-way deal with the Rangers and Angels. The A's dealt second baseman Scott Sizemore and minor league outfielder Josh Whitaker to Texas for 1B/OF Mark Trumbo, along with minor leaguers Joey Gallo and Zach Cone. Trumbo matched a career-high with 32 homeruns in 2013 while setting a personal best (or worse, in this case) with 162 strikeouts.

Oakland had one other hole to fill in the offseason, with the loss of Anderson in the rotation in the Orioles trade. Billy is rolling the dice on a couple of free agent signings, hoping at least one doesn't crap out. Bud Norris (8-16, 5.51 ERA, 210.2 IP) seems like the safer bet, signing for $3.2 million over 4 years. Billy doesn't seem at all concerned about the 16 losses or the 5+ ERA, believing those numbers were inflated playing for a 108-loss Astros team. Norris also drew the short straw as Houston's ace, typically going up against other teams' number one starting pitcher. Now he'll have the luxury of pitching against guys at the bottom of the rotation. The bigger risk is Johan Santana, who could join the team at the end of Spring Training. The 4-time All-Star selection hasn't pitched in the majors since 2012 and is rehabbing a torn ACL. His 2-year deal will pay him a total of $1.8 million. He's your typical Billy Beane speculative buy. Billy made one more high-upside signing when Delmon Young, an always-promising and usually-disappointing outfielder agreed to a 4-year, $5.4 million free agent deal.

For those of you keeping track, the A's had lost:
SP Brett Anderson
OF Seth Smith
RP Jerry Blevins
C Derek Norris
C John Jaso
OF Michael Taylor
2B Scott Sizemore
OF Josh Whitaker

And added:
C Matt Wieters
OF Delmon Young
P Johan Santana
P Bud Norris
RP Mark Montgomery
RP Carlos Marmol
2B Alberto Callaspo
1B/OF Mark Trumbo
OF Zach Cone
1B Joey Gallo

Even by Billy's standards, that's a fairly big haul. The shopping list complete, Melvin was ready to cook with his new-look team in Spring Training.

[HomerOne]

Great thread, Hendu Style! I really enjoyed reading this. You and Orcin are my favorite writers here. Wish I could be as good as this.

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by HomerOne

Great thread, Hendu Style! I really enjoyed reading this. You and Orcin are my favorite writers here. Wish I could be as good as this.

Thanks Homer! It's an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Orcin. I'm glad you're enjoying this. It's fun to be craft a story and share it with anyone who might enjoy following along.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 11
A Rock and a Hard Place

Billy Beane is a man of many hats. By day, he's Oakland's general manager. By night, he serves on the board of directors of two companies: the Bay Area software firm NetSuites, and the football helmet manufacturer Riddell. He commands a $40,000 fee for various speaking engagements. He's also a consultant for the English soccer club Tottenham and the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.

He's also just been bumped up to an 8% minority stake in the Oakland Athletics.

"Lots of coffee," Billy answers, when asked how he balances all of his obligations.

One of the perks of being the most coveted executive in professional sports is commanding absurdly high fees for his services. A's owner Lew Wolff periodically deals with Billy's dalliances with other teams by rewarding his general manager with a small stake in the ballclub.

"The theory is that I'm more emotionally invested in the team if I'm financially invested in the team," Billy says as he shuffles through paperwork in his latest project.

The project, Billy sighs, is the A's ongoing effort to construct a new stadium. The team has been tirelessly working to relocate to nearby San Jose, though the San Francisco Giants have been swatting the move like a Dikembe Mutombo blocked shot. Major League Baseball has been dragging its feet, supposedly forming a blue ribbon panel to examine the impact of a move. It's a stall tactic.

"Our hands are pretty much tied," Billy concedes. "We're at the mercy of Bud Selig and the league. Unless they do something, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

The rock, in this case, is Oakland. The hard place is the Coliseum. The lease is up at the Coliseum, and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Commission has the A's over a barrel. Without a place to play, the Commission has been trying to hard ball the A's into an unfavorable deal, which would cut even more out of the team's already slim profit margin.

Not surprisingly, this has turned out to be a headache for Billy. The Yankees privately tried to get an interview with him about taking over for Brian Cashman as their general manager, and Billy seriously considered it when Hank Steinbrenner offered him an executive role to head up the team's flagship network, YES.

No, though, was the answer when Wolff stepped in and doubled Billy's ownership stake in the A's. 8% of a team that could be valued at half a billion dollars in San Jose is worth more to Billy than a front office job with the Pinstripers. Billy's always been a "roll of the dice" kind of guy, and this is no exception.

Still, is the Coliseum conundrum worth the risk?

"I think I've figured out a way around that," Billy says with a smile.

The savvy general manager-consultant-minority owner-board member has formed a hair-brained idea that could buy the A's a little more time in Oakland. But to pull it off, his owner is going to have to call in a big favor from an old friend.

Lew Wolff enters the room. The 70-something A's is a dead ringer for Ernest Borgnine, though Wolff shares little of the charisma and jovialness of the late actor. Lew made his fortune as a real estate developer, and you don't make loads of money in this business by being a nice guy.

"So, you're really going to make me do this, huh?" the owner asks his general manager with a grimace.

"It's the only way, Lew," Billy shrugs. "What have we got to lose?"

Wolff makes the call. On the other line is his fraternity brother from Pi Lambda Phi at the University of Wisconsin: Bud Selig.

If there's any honor among frat brothers, it has not yet been shown from Bud. The Commissioner has done little to nothing in helping the A's relocate to San Jose. A simple compensation package or "Deal With It" to the Giants would likely get the A's into the South Bay by 2017. But Bud has done something that has helped neither the A's or the Giants: nothing at all.

"Bud," Lew tells his former college classmate, "this could really help out my ballclub, and it's what's best for Major League Baseball. And that's really what matters most. It's a smart business decision."

The plan is remarkably simple, yet complex. Threaten the Commission by breaking off talks and forcing the Giants to share their current stadium, AT&T Park, with the A's. The Commission would no longer have all of the leverage, and the Giants would get a taste of just how real this stadium issue is becoming.

It works.

"Buddy, you won't regret this," Lew says as he hurries off the phone. "Let's do lunch the next time I'm in Milwaukee."

Bud Selig has just agreed to inform the Giants that the A's will be moving across the Bay to share AT&T Park. Ironically, the Giants have no recourse because of the antitrust exemption. MLB has the final say over franchise movement, so the very power that has kept the A's out of San Jose could now put them in San Francisco.

Of course, this is all about getting Oakland back to the bargaining table to work out a short-term lease at the Coliseum. Right?

"Sure," Billy says with a mischievous smile.

[Hendu Style]

Giants and A's playing in the same ballpark? It could happen

By Mark Purdy
mpurdy@mercurynews.com

With the A's lease-extension negotiations bogging down in Oakland, officials from Major League Baseball have introduced the idea of having the Giants share AT&T Park with the Athletics in 2014, the San Jose Mercury News has confirmed.

However, it's unlikely such an arrangement will take place unless the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Commission fails to reach agreement on the A's request to extend their lease at O.co Coliseum for five years or less. The team's agreement to play at O.co expired at the conclusion of the 2013 season. But with MLB still wrestling with both the A's request for a move to San Jose as well as no feasible new ballpark plan surfacing in Oakland, the team wishes to keep playing at O.co until that issue is settled.

Negotiations on a lease extension have been ongoing for more than six months and differences have surfaced on concessions revenue and length of the extension.

Representatives of the A's expected the terms to be resolved by now and still expect the team to play in Oakland in 2013 and for several more years. But with lease-extension talks stalling, Major League Baseball has become a party to the negotiations because it administers the schedule and needs to inform opponents where home games will be played.
The Giants could be forced to accept the unique sharing agreement for the same reason that the A's have been denied their request for a San Jose move -- because MLB has an antitrust exemption that gives it special powers to control franchise movement.

Two teams sharing a Major League ballpark would not be unprecedented. The Dodgers and the Angels both played in Dodger Stadium while Anaheim was building its new ballpark in the 1960's, and the Yankees and the Mets shared Shea Stadium during a Yankee Stadium remodeling project in the 70's.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MercPurdy.