The "Moneyball" movie has no business not being awesome

Until recently I had never read the book "Moneyball."   All I knew of it was a basic one sentence plot summary: that it's about the Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane targeting cheap players with high On Base Percentages in an attempt to win games and stay competitive, despite a low payroll.  So when I heard there was a movie coming out, I was very skeptical that a book about analyzing baseball statistics could actually translate to the big screen.  Well, I just finished reading the book, and let me tell you, there are actually TONS of plot lines in it that make for a great movie.  Just to name a few:

- Billy Beane as a failed "can't miss" prospect turned GM who hired players the opposite of himself

- Chad Bradford making the Big Leagues as an underhand pitcher, in part because his father suffered a stroke which limited him to throwing underhand

- the author chronicling the A's during the 2002 season in which (SPOILER ALERT!!!) they had a miraculous 20 game win streak (that I remember well), punctuated by blowing an 11-0 lead in game #20, then winning it 12-11 on a walk off HR by Scott Hatteberg (that I had totally forgotten)

If this movie isn't great I am going to be so pissed.  There's also a million more things in the book I'd like to discuss.  The logic to it fits my brain perfectly, and a lot of the ideas in it about baseball are arguments that I make on my own all the time.  But that's another blog for another day.

Actually, this blog I wrote back in April about the problem with another wild card team is very Moneyball-esque.  And come to think of it, so are my thoughts about the Sox leaving 16 men on base against the Yankees in a game last week.