Seldom has one man done so little in the game and gotten so much recognition. Honestly, those are my feelings about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane.
You see, I remember Beane as a beat writer when he rode the pine with the Tigers in 1988. It wasn't a brief stint. It was months. But he only got six at bats because he was so bad Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, who bemoaned his presence on the team on a daily basis, refused to put him in the games.
Still, when you read "Money Ball," author Michael Lewis' portrayal makes Beane seem like this premier athlete, which he wasn't.
Yet, they are making a movie about Beane - with Brad Pitt playing his role. Of course, the movie is about Beane, the general manager. But tell me, what has Oakland exactly won under his guidance. Oh, and by the way, how have all those draft picks that were discussed in "Money Ball" panned out? Hey, scouts do know something after all.
Guess who is playing then-Oakland manager Art Howe in the movie? Philip Seymour Hoffman. I can sense another Oscar for him, don't you?
One of the funny casting credits given in the movie is to Royce Clayton playing Miguel Tejeda. Sure to be the best thing to hit a sports movie since Wayne Fontes played himself in "Jerry MaGuire."