Money Ball

The Oakland A's have done it again.  They have come out of nowhere to snatch the A.L. West crown from the Texas Rangers.  The 2-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers.  How did they do it?  Where did this team come from?  Did most fans even have any idea that they had a shot at winning the division?  More importantly, who are these guys?

Here is how they did it.   Pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching.  The genius that is Billy Beane, who most of you only know about through the movie Money Ball, is that this guy finds young pitchers.  Jarrod Parker, Tommy Millone, and A.J. Griffin could easily be Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson from the early 2000's.  Now pitching is not the only reason they have gotten here.  Josh Reddick surprised everyone by hitting 32 home runs.  Yoenis Cespedes turned out to be worth the money they paid him after he defected from Cuba. 

Typical Billy Beane team.  Use the assets you have at your disposal as a small market franchise, make 1 or 2 moves to sort of solidify your ball club, sleep walk through the first half of the season, get hot after the all star game and win your division when no one expects you to.  The Oakland A's have done it again, given how little money they actually have to spend this is truly remarkable.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?