Moneyball...

When the movie comes out I was wondering who was going to see it and if folks wanted to do a BCB Moneyball movie night? Meet somewhere in the city and see it

9 months ago Endrick 47 comments 0 recs |

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I definitely want to read the book first.

…but if the movie night doesn’t work out, we can all wait till it comes out on dvd and whoever wants to, start watching it all at the same time and have a Moneyball movie thread :D
awesome idea, no? I have a million of ’em!

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 4:53 PM CDT reply actions

I have had that book in my "to read" stack for a couple of years.

For some reason I keep moving other books ahead of it. Let me know how it is. Doubt I will have a chance to read it before the movie comes out.

WWFCD?

by katie casey on Aug 29, 2011 5:02 PM CDT up reply actions

will do

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:05 PM CDT up reply actions

You convinced me to finally read it for myself

when I read that you “couldn’t put it down” in another thread. That was just the endorsement I needed. I had previously been scared off because it mentioned the word numbers on the inner flap. I thought it would be boring and/or way over my head. I couldn’t put it down either. Pretty sure I will be done in time for the movie release.

WWFCD?

by katie casey on Aug 31, 2011 7:37 AM CDT up reply actions

How is this any different than Soup Club?

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Aug 29, 2011 5:08 PM CDT reply actions

I thought Soup Club had a restricted membership policy

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, I guess so...I mean...you have to ask us if you want to come to Soup Club so you'll know when to come to Soup Club.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Aug 29, 2011 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions

would I have to eat soup my first time there?

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:53 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

If the Cubs still have a chance, no matter how small, it’s still Go Cubs, damn the math and pass the KoolAid.

by eths on Aug 30, 2011 7:23 AM CDT up reply actions

Ok but I wanna know...

Is there a special hand shake?
Maybe a lapel pin to ID each other?
Secret Decoder Ring?

Speachless...

by Endrick on Aug 29, 2011 6:22 PM CDT up reply actions

There was no mention of unholy acts...

by daily2b on Aug 29, 2011 11:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Excellent book, one of my favorites

Now it’s not a “new” or “revolutionary” idea, it’s all exploited by every club now

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 5:19 PM CDT reply actions

serious question....are you saying that it's one of those ideas that only works

at the start? Now that every club uses some form of this way of thinking, it can’t have the same impact?

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:25 PM CDT up reply actions

I think it would still be an interesting read

just to give you a behind the scenes account of a baseball GM. But one of the reasons it was so popular when it first came out was that it introduced people to, what was at the time, a new Bill James style of thinking within certain circles of the baseball community. Now sabremetrics is a common idea in baseball but Billy Beane was one of the first to use it to build a baseball system.

So it would still be an interesting and worthwhile read, just probably won’t be anything groundbreaking any more.

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 5:34 PM CDT up reply actions

I had just started it late last night and couldn't put it down...I've said before, it will be the first book

of behind the scenes baseball I’ve ever read.

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:46 PM CDT up reply actions

Same here, first behind the scenes book for me

My first insight into basic baseball operations and how clubs work at a shallow level

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 5:55 PM CDT up reply actions

I read your first comment wrong

thought you were asking if the book would have the same impact. But as what you were actually asking.

One of the things that Beane was doing was trying to find players that would come cheap by exploiting hidden talents uncovered by advanced metrics, something other teams weren’t doing at the time. So it makes it more difficult to accomplish this feat when every other team is doing the exact same thing. And those hidden talents are now coveted talents, which adds to the difficulty.

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Aug 29, 2011 5:58 PM CDT up reply actions

I wonder if the Cubs ever used this "technique"

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 6:00 PM CDT up reply actions

With Jim Hendry

Thats a large difference between what are the “old school” GMs and the new younger ones such as Theo. Ex Toronto GM JP Ricciardi was a student of Mr. Beane out in Oakland but couldn’t translate that into success, hense, they now have Alex ICantSpellHisLastName

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 6:04 PM CDT up reply actions

When one club uses an edge

It’s a leg up, when all do, it’s back to a level playing field

~Ronald Reagan has held the two most demeaning jobs in the country; President of the United States and radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs~ George F. Will

by unretrofied93 on Aug 29, 2011 5:56 PM CDT up reply actions

gotcha

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 5:59 PM CDT up reply actions

The trick now is finding the next market inefficiency

One of the fallacies people have about Moneyball is that it’s all about OBP. It’s much more about using statistical analysis to evaluate players as wins/losses and finding and exploiting market inefficiencies in order to be able to stay competitive while maintaining a crummy payroll.

Now that almost everyone understands the value of OBP (the Cubs and Giants, for example, are still behind the times on this), the A’s will have to find a new undervalued skill. You’re absolutely right that it’s much much harder to find market inefficiencies now that so many of the big market teams are also using statistical analysis, it makes it much harder to find those inefficiencies.

by SouthernCub on Aug 30, 2011 8:06 AM CDT up reply actions

The cubs would beg to differ

Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!

by Notsnud on Aug 29, 2011 6:01 PM CDT up reply actions

Really? EVERY Club?

The sun is up. They sky is blue. It's beautiful, and so are you. Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play? ~Lennon & McCartney

by SouthWabashSoul on Aug 29, 2011 7:46 PM CDT up reply actions

This sounds like a fun idea.

Any ideas for where and when?

WWFCD?

by katie casey on Aug 29, 2011 5:53 PM CDT reply actions

No idea but someplace near an L stop

would be good…
It doesn’t come out for a few weeks so we have time to plan something…

Speachless...

by Endrick on Aug 29, 2011 6:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Moneyball is a must read

The same author also wrote a great book about the rise and fall of credit default swaps. The Big Short.

Marilyn Monroe "yogi your a pretty cool guy"
Berra " Marilyn you ain't so hot yourself"!

by Notsnud on Aug 29, 2011 6:05 PM CDT reply actions

He also wrote "The Blind Side"

The book about football player Michael Oher which became the movie for which Sandra Bullock won an Oscar.

The Frustrated Fan

by Jody Jody Davis on Aug 30, 2011 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm going to take a more casual route

I’ll attend the movie and yell out “Anybody here from BCB? Anybody! Anybody!!!” in the middle of the movie.

"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza

by RiskyBusiness on Aug 29, 2011 6:09 PM CDT reply actions

I'm actually reading the book now

for use in a paper I’m planning on writing about the dialectical nature of baseball. The book is really engaging and I think the movie might be good too, but I can’t help but laugh while the A’s front office gushes on and on about how they’re pulling the blanket over everyone’s eyes with guys like Jeremy Brown, John McCurdy, and Brant Colamarino.

by cmhosin on Aug 29, 2011 6:39 PM CDT reply actions

To be fair, a lot of that is the author's own commentary

The A’s obviously liked those guys a lot, but I think it was more about the change in philosophy (identifying lower risk players and signing them way under slot) than feeling like they completely pantsed the other GMs.

by SouthernCub on Aug 30, 2011 8:01 AM CDT up reply actions

Point taken

I initially read that chapter with a lot of skepticism, especially considering the mild criticism the narrative directed at Prince Fielder, but after messing around on fangraphs yesterday, I was actually surprised to see that Nick Swisher had a higher WAR than Fielder. I’m still not sure if Fielder isn’t more valuable from an holistic perspective (season ticket and jersey sales, etc.) but I’m willing to admit that the some of the new math is more salient than I previously imagined.

by cmhosin on Aug 31, 2011 8:37 AM CDT up reply actions

And why do I keep seeing all theses ads on BCB for the Moneyball movie??

It’s like some omnipotent super-power knows what we’re talking about!!! How can that be!?!?!

"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza

by RiskyBusiness on Aug 29, 2011 7:09 PM CDT reply actions

I started seeing it earlier, right after we first began talking about it in the recap thread.

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 7:21 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm so conflicted with Moneyball

Who will I root for more during the movie? Jonah Hill? Phillip Seymore Hoffman? Or should I just go all crazy and say Brad Pitt?

"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza

by RiskyBusiness on Aug 29, 2011 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions

who does Hoffman play?

Jonah Hill looks like he’s gonna steal the scenes in the trailers

"Well-behaved women seldom make History"---Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

by cooliogirl47 on Aug 29, 2011 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Hoffman plays Art Howe

The A’s Manager in the book.

"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza

by RiskyBusiness on Aug 30, 2011 8:49 AM CDT up reply actions

It's the first time I clicked one of their ads

on purpose. I wanted to see the trailer.

WWFCD?

by katie casey on Aug 30, 2011 9:22 AM CDT up reply actions

I might be down for it

then again, when I think about how this was turned into a movie, I think of the movie Adaptation, and Nic Cage in that movie could have easily have been adapting Moneyball instead of a book about a ghost orchid.

www.facebook.com/craighudak

by Craig in South Bend on Aug 29, 2011 9:22 PM CDT reply actions

I love that movie.

Seeya Jimbo! Good job, Tommy Boy!

by shoemile on Aug 30, 2011 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions

It is a fantastic movie

isn’t it?

www.facebook.com/craighudak

by Craig in South Bend on Aug 31, 2011 7:30 AM CDT up reply actions

by Notsnud on Aug 30, 2011 7:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe this will be like Fight Club

and that’s why they originally wanted David Fincher to direct.

www.facebook.com/craighudak

by Craig in South Bend on Aug 31, 2011 7:31 AM CDT up reply actions

Jonah Hill's character replaces DePodesta (who was to be played by Martin)

Martin (and thus DePodesta’s character) was replaced by Hill in the cast. The first guess is that DePodesta didn’t want to be represented by the fat Jonah Hill.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/if_its_cool_with_everyone_paul.html

by SouthernCub on Aug 31, 2011 8:06 AM CDT up reply actions