Moneyball 2.0

I have never been more exited for a Major League Baseball season than I was for the 2012 season. I am an Angels fan and the team was coming off an offseason where they signed Albert Pujols to a major contract. They also signed C.J. Wilson from the rival Texas Rangers, and it looked like the rotation would be one of the best in baseball as Wilson joined fellow starters Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana.

It looked like everything was on the way up for the Angels and that they would contend with the Rangers again for the AL West title. That's what was supposed to happen, but as you know, that isn't what actually happened.

And that's why, ladies and gentleman, they play the game.

Granted, the Angels aren't completely sunk yet. They are currently 3 GB of the Wild Card, but during an off season that everyone picked you to win the AL West and go to the World Series, it's been disappointing season to say the least.

Baseball is a team game. Yes, the Angels signed one of the best hitters to ever play the game, but Albert Pujols can only do so much damage with 4 at bats per game. He has to rely on the other 8 guys in the lineup to hit in front of, and behind him consistently.

Yes, the Angels signed C.J. Wilson, the top free agent pitcher available, but there is only so much he can do when he only plays every 5 days.

The Angels looked great on paper...but that's the problem.

Money doesn't win baseball games. Pitching and timely hitting throughout the lineup wins baseball games, and it always has.

And that brings us to the Athletics, who are in my opinion,  the surprise team of the year. Brad Pitt....I mean Billy Beane really knows what he's doing out in the bay area, which just gives more validity to the movie Moneyball. If you haven't seen Moneyball and you are a baseball fan, you need to run to your nearest redbox or blockbuster as soon as you can.

The A's have an extraordinary talent for grooming young prospects, signing cheap players, and playing on a budget. They currently have the lowest payroll in the entire league ($49,137,500), yet they currently lead the AL Wild Card and are 3 GB of the Rangers in the AL West.

The A's have made several moves to help them save money, and get production at the same time. For example, they signed Josh Reddick from the Boston Red Sox who is having a breakout season with 28 HR and 75 RBI. Pretty good production for someone who is only making $485,000 this season.

They gave up Josh Willingham, who then opted to sign with the Minnesota Twins and is owed $7,000,000 over the next 3 seasons after 2012. He is having a spectacular year with 33 HR and 103 RBI, but I would take Reddick's numbers if it cost me $6.5 million less per year.

Oakland started the year with Kurt Suzuki at catcher. His contract owed him $5,000,000 this year and $6,450,000 in 2013. In 75 games he batted .218 with 1 HR and 18 RBI. He had a .286 slugging % and a .250 on base %. In a brilliant move by Beane, the A's moved him to the Washington Nationals and traded for George Kottaras, who came from the Milwauke Brewers. Kottaras' salary is $700,000 and is putting up more production than Suzuki, batting .212 with 8HR and 28 RBI with a .376 on base % and a slugging % of .423 and this was in 73 games, two less than Suzuki.

Four pitchers in their starting rotation are rookies...or in other words CHEAP. Not only are they cheap, but they are darn good as well, highlighted by Rookie A.J. Griffin who was called up from the minors in June, since then he is 6-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Oakland ranks 3rd in ERA (3.38) 8th in quality starts (84) 3rd in WHIP (walks/hits per innings piched, 1.22) and 4th in BAA (batting average against, .244). Those are ENTIRE LEAGUE ranks, not just the American League.

The Offensive side isn't so pretty, they rank near the bottom of the league in every major offensive category, except for one, which is the most important. The A's rank dead last in the entire league in batting average (.236), however, with runners in scoring position they are batting .261, which ranks 10th in the league. They may not hit the ball all over the yard, but when there are men on base, they take advantage.

Pitching and timely hitting wins ballgames and keeps you in playoff races. If you don't believe it just turn your attention to Oakland, California where they are showing all the big market, big money spending teams how its done.