What was once a statement that would be mocked and chided has now become inevitable: The A’s will make the playoffs in 2012.
Yes, it’s hardly official with 16 games left and a tough 10-game road trip facing the A’s. But entering today’s game against the Detroit Tigers, Oakland owns a 1½-game edge over the Baltimore Orioles for the top wild-card spot and, more importantly, a 4½-game lead on the Los Angeles Angels for the all-important second wild-card berth.
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The last time the Los Angeles Angels rolled into the Oakland Coliseum (May 21), they were eight games out of first with an 18-24 record and their pricey offseason acquisition, Albert Pujols, was struggling through the worst slump of his career, batting .211. The A’s, on the other hand, were in second place with a 21-21 record, despite injuries to Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon McCarthy and Coco Crisp. But few thought the anomaly would last.
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Movies about sports often take liberties with the facts, and “Moneyball,” nominated for best picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards, is no exception.
“Moneyball” deviates from the facts in four ways:
- It portrays the 2002 A’s as possessing a secret formula for success that had eluded other teams.
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David Chiu’s carefully hoarded mayoral campaign cash is finally being splurged on ads, one of which casts the Board of Supervisors president in the role of Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager played by Brad Pitt in “Moneyball.”
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It’s good news that “Moneyball” is reminding people that the A’s were a record-setting playoff team before being bought by Lew Wolff and John Fisher. But the idea that Billy Beane was blazing a new trail that others have copied is nonsense.
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It could have been a classic David vs. Goliath story, a made-for-Hollywood account of the small-market Oakland A’s and their beleaguered general manager, Billy Beane, taking on Major League Baseball’s free-spending powerhouses. But “Moneyball,” Bennett Miller’s sports drama loosely inspired by Michael Lewis’ 2003 best-seller, is more ambitious than that.
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“Moneyball” the movie tells the amazing story of the 2002 Oakland A’s, and how manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and a forward-thinking number cruncher (Jonah Hill) turned a tiny budget into a team that pulled off a 20-game winning streak, an American League record.
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When asked what actor portrays him in the upcoming film “Moneyball,” Casey Chavez lets out a resounding laugh.There were no casting calls for a bullpen catcher in the movie that features Brad Pitt as A’s general manager Billy Beane.
On the baseball field, however, the bullpen catcher plays a vital role.
“My main job is to get the guys to hit the mound ready,” Chavez said. “From the second inning on, usually we’re on call. When the phone rings it’s go time.”
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