ShareThisA certain Angels fan had seen quite enough of Jemile Weeks. "What's this guy doing on the A's?" he wrote via e-mail as Weeks' five-hit weekend helped Oakland dismantle L.A.'s postseason hopes. "And can they get rid of him, please?"
As the season winds down and "Moneyball" has people flocking to movie theaters, the A's are a team of contradictions. They have eyes on a new ballpark, but may never get there. Billy Beane has come to life through Brad Pitt's clever acting, but he'll face the lure of tempting offers from other clubs. And as the team builds its lineup of the future, "Moneyball" is about as relevant as an 8-track tape deck.
This is old news for anyone familiar with the A's inner workings, but just as they were a progressive, unconventional organization at the turn of the century, as portrayed in Michael Lewis' book, they remain flexible and open-minded. There's a hint of desperation behind any attempt to blend success with a modest payroll, and the A's aren't about to get locked into any hard-and-fast approach.
And thus, there is the second baseman Weeks, the type of aggressive speed merchant Beane wouldn't have targeted 10 years ago. There is Michael Choice, last year's No. 1 draft pick (10th overall), a somewhat undisciplined hitter who nevertheless drew raves for his power hitting (29 homers) and potential in the Class A California League. The big leagues proved to be a rude awakening for Chris Carter and Michael Taylor, a couple of raw-power athletes, but ask Brandon Belt or the Angels' highly touted Mike Trout, who recently went through a 3-for-38 slump; the first time around isn't so easy.
One of the best things about "Moneyball," the movie, is the ongoing sequence of comments from the A's current staff. Old-school scouts are belittled on screen, but Grady Fuson, the longtime scouting director who was rehired by the A's last year, sets the record straight. "The whole thing has come back full circle as far as using numbers and statistics," he said. "Back then, I think they were using numbers for maybe 80 percent of the opinions formed. I'd like to think now that it's 60-40, with scouting being the 60."
Much has been made about the A's obsession with on-base percentage and a patient approach to hitting, to the point where active players around the game, including Texas pitcher C.J. Wilson, have ridiculed the notion. But they're not seeing the whole picture. "Selective is good," director of player development Keith Lieppman told espn.com, "but we're leaning more toward aggressiveness, where passive is a problem. It's about having a plan and teaching young hitters what they're capable of, and picking good pitches to hit."
It's crucial to note that Beane not only hired Bob Melvin to replace ill-chosen manager Bob Geren, but that he signed Melvin to a three-year deal. Melvin is hardly a raging eccentric, but he places more emphasis on speed and defense than past A's regimes, lending a refreshing tone of unpredictability to the A's style. A's fans have all been beaten down by the San Jose rumors and the sight of a near-empty Coliseum, but a heart beats steadily within.
(Contact Bruce Jenkins at jenkinsb(at)sfchronicle.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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