Athletics Nation: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Around SBN: Race to the BCS: rankings, in-game scores & blogs Bar-right-arrows



Billy Beane AN Interview January 07 Edition Part III

Just in case you're visiting AN for the first time this week, you should read part one and part two of the exclusive AN Billy Beane interview before you go on.  OK, done?

Now without further ado, my chat with Beane comes to a conclusion.  Enjoy.

Blez:  You brought this up yourself, but the upper levels of the A's farm system seem to be relatively bare in terms to top prospects outside of Buck and Barton.  Are you happy with the state of the farm system right now as it's obviously been important to the A's success as a franchise?

Beane:  We've graduated so many players the last 10 years.  But I'd include Buck, Barton, Windsor and Suzuki in that as well.  It's more than you think.  We're used to naming seven, eight or nine guys.  We forget about the guys that we're just brought up to get here.  That's going to happen.  It's hard to stay at a level where you're producing four big leaguers a year.  Teams just don't do that.  That being said, these next couple of drafts are going to be very important to us and we have a number of draft choices this year.  We're all really looking forward to that.

Blez:  Is the draft looking good this year?

Beane:  It's supposed to be real good.  Usually people around this time of year are saying, oh it's a terrible draft.  All indications are that it's a young draft, but it's supposed to be very talented.  

Blez:  There have been different reports about what happened in the negotiations between you and Justin Smoak.  Smoak's turned into a great prospect.  Baseball America reported that he wanted $1 million and that you were offering $950,000.  Was it ever really that close?

Beane:  (Laughs)  No, no.  I'll try and give you the Reader's Digest answer.  We never even made an offer to Justin.  In fact, when we drafted him, we drafted him late.  He was projected to go in the first or comp round.  To his credit, he made it quite clear the amount of money that he was interested in signing for.  We just said we'd draft the kid late just in case there was some point during the summer he changed his mind.  Quite frankly, I'd spoken to him and he's a great kid.  I know his coach a little bit at South Carolina and we at no point were trying to bribe him out of his scholarship because it's a great university.  To put it plainly, we said we look forward to seeing you in three years, go out and have a great career.  In fact, Justin and I had a conversation at one point even though he had a number that he wanted he was very committed to going to South Carolina and I congratulated him on that decision.  We never even made an offer.  That was total fiction.  I can assure you that if we were between $950,000 and a million dollars we would've found a way to get it done.  I was a proponent of the kid going to school.  He was committed and he's a South Carolina kid.  I think some of the college programs are a great developer of talent and I'm a big fan of these kids going and coming out three years later.  

Blez:  Does Erubiel Durazo have a good chance of being on the 2007 roster?

Beane:  We'll see.  I think it's all up in the air right now.  Ruby had a great season in winter ball and was very productive when he was here.  I think he enjoyed his time in Oakland and we enjoyed having him here as well.  I think that's going to be better answered in the spring.

Blez:  There have been a few different lists of the best GMs in baseball this year.  ESPN.com conducted a poll of the fans and they chose you as the best GM and Dayn Perry recently named you the fourth best in baseball.  Do you pay attention to those kinds of things and do they mean anything to you?

Beane:  I think it's the kind of thing where you're only as good as your last year.  They're more fun and humorous than anything.

Blez:  The fans obviously seem to love you though.

Beane:  (Laughs) Well that's the important thing, right?  A real man of the people.  This is a republic.  They have new lists out every year, so it doesn't matter.  But the truth is that it's never a bad thing when people appreciate what you do.

Blez:  The stadium announcement was obviously huge news and while there is still a ton to get done, you referenced the A's being able to keep more of their homegrown stars finally.  Assuming everything goes well and we're looking at a stadium possibly opening in 2011, when can fans anticipate the team starting to keep its stars?

Beane:  Very good question because you don't necessarily have to be playing in that stadium to start anticipating.  My personal feeling is once you start laying bricks and it's a matter of when it gets done, that's when your business plan gets more based around that stadium.  That's why you really want to start building the thing so you can start planning for that.  The clock is ticking on some guys here that you would probably like to keep around.  But until you start to see bricks and mortar, you have to be careful in spending what you don't have yet.  

Blez:  Just because it can still potentially fall through?

Beane:  Yeah, right.   The date that will be important for me is when I see Lew (Wolff) with a hard hat and a shovel for the contrived photos and when they put that first brick in.  That's when I'll say all right we can start planning long term here.  

Blez:  One of the things that makes me excited from a fan's perspective is the prospect of seeing you work with a bigger budget.  How excited are you in thinking about the idea of having a bigger budget to work with?

Beane:  It will be a lot more relaxing and we probably won't have to say "if" quite as much (laughs).  I go back to what I said at the press conference.  The ability to keep what you develop long term would be the best part about it.  Instead of constantly waiting for the next guy to leave, and knowing that when you draft a kid out of college that he could possibly spend his whole career with you.  Because for us, it's exhausting.  We signed Loaiza last year because we knew we were going to lose Zito.  You're almost doing moves in preparation for the exodus that's going to happen in two years.  That does get exhausting.  I don't mean literally.  

Blez:  I can imagine it would get a bit frustrating.

Beane:  Yeah, and the one thing that we're the most proud of is that we've created expectations here.  This organization has won a lot of games.  I think we've been held to a higher standard of performance, which I'm very proud of.  We have a sense of pride in putting a winner on the field.  But it definitely gets more and more challenging every single year.  It would be nice to go to Europe for a month and know that your team is in its mid-20s and locked in for the next five or six years.  

Blez:  One of the things that's become a mantra of yours is that you've always talked about people rooting for the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back.  If the A's do start to keep stars for the duration of their careers, does that fundamentally change what an A's fan should root for?  Or at least your message?

Beane:  No.  There are players that make a lot of money that are worth every penny.  The tough thing we've had here is that there are some decisions that we can't make because of money.  There's some that we would like to make if we had the money that would be good baseball decisions.  For instance there are some players where we thought, we'd like to keep this guy, but we just don't have the resources to be able to do it.  Ultimately, you like to combine the two where you have created a situation where, and it doesn't happen much in this game but if you have the revenues you do it, a guy starts his career and becomes one of the all-time great A's.  You take a guy like Eric Chavez.  At the end of his current contract he will have spent 12 years with the organization and at that point I expect Eric to maybe have 10 Gold Gloves.  It would be nice for him to spend his entire career here.  It'd be nice to create an entire generation of A's like they had back in the 70s where people always associate them with the A's.  If you think of the last decade, we've had a lot of great people here, people aren't going to even associate them with this club because they've all gone onto other clubs.  I do think that that's important for the history of the franchise.  You had Hudson, Mulder and Zito here.  And Barry just signed a seven-year deal.  The length of that deal will carry him beyond his tenure here.  It is important for a baseball team to have a history and associate themselves with players who are a part of that history.  That's one thing this generation won't have.  We will have accomplished a lot of success but we won't have created a history beyond winning on the field.  I do think that's important.

Blez:  Speaking of importance of history, will you be sad when the team leaves Oakland?

Beane:  Well it would be more disheartening to not have them in the Bay Area.  I view this whole East Bay as one area.  I just think of this as a great thing.  And the opportunity to remain in the East Bay is what's important.  It would be more disappointing to have us not here at all.

Blez:  One last question as it involves A's history.  The Hall of Fame recently rejected Mark McGwire.  Do you see him as a Hall of Famer?

Beane:  It's not my vote and my opinion isn't a lot of value to anyone so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to be giving it to anyone.  He was a great teammate.  He was a great player when I was here with him and that's for others to debate.

Blez:  But if you had a vote, would you have voted for him?

Beane:  I haven't talked to Mark since he left here in 97.  It's been a long time.  He was a great guy and great teammate.  To have the conversation on the Hall of Fame, it's probably just not for me to give my opinion.  Others are debating it enough, there's no sense for me chiming in there.

Blez:  Thanks so much for your time today.

Beane:  No problem Tyler, anything you need.

0 recs | Comment 139 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

WTF?
i've been a beane defender on AN from the very beginning, even when he traded mulder and hudson.
that smoak answer does not satisfy me at all.

"he made it quite clear the amount of money that he was interested in signing for."  

so that part IS true.

"I was a proponent of the kid going to school."  

"we at no point were trying to bribe him out of his scholarship because it's a great university."

???  
is beane our GM or is he a guidance counselor?

"we said we look forward to seeing you in three years, go out and have a great career."

we look forward to seeing you get drafted by another team and having a great career.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 9:08 AM PST   0 recs

To me it was clear that Smoak
was asking for a ridiculous sum of money in order to persuade him out of going to school.  I think what Billy was basically saying was that they took a chance that his desire to get his pro career started might change and that's why they took a chance on taking him late.  Just in case he decided that he would forego school.  But when his money demands were still first round money, Billy basically told him to go have a great career and maybe the A's will redraft him once his college career ends.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 9:12 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Then why draft him at all?
In case Smoak decided he'd skip school AND in case he decided to take much less money?

I agree with x, this Beane answer rings false.

"If your athame is a spork, you might be a Discordian."

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 31, 2007 9:27 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Two reasons
I agree that Billy isn't telling us the whole truth, and I wasn't expecting him to.  However, there are three good reasons to draft Smoak even if you think you can't sign him.  First, Smoak could have a change of heart and sign.  Second, by drafting Smoak you avoid having some other team drafting him and throwing big money at him.  Third, you can use him as insurance in case one of your first round guys gets hurt, killed, or arrested before you sign him, freeing up money to sign Smoak.  For the cost of a late round pick, it's not a bad gamble. From Billy's comments, it seems number two may have been a big factor.  Billy didn't want Smoak to go to school for Smoak's sake, he wanted Smoak to go to school instead of Anaheim or Boston.
I'd like to eat my lunch, but Billy just kicked me out of my office.

by BlameChannel53 on Jan 31, 2007 9:34 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Exactly
You don't really lose much by taking a chance of picking him in case his price drops radically and he decides he's not going to go to college.  It sounds from everything Billy said that he pretty much had his mind made up that he was going to go to school unless someone met his significant asking price (which would also explain why so many passed on him in the first few rounds).

It was a smart chance to take with a late pick.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 9:49 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I guess
You guys make a reasonable case, and I'm hardly a prospect maven, but it doesn't seem like the A's have been in the habit of speculatively wasting any draft choices during the Beane era.
"If your athame is a spork, you might be a Discordian."

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 31, 2007 10:05 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Depends on your definition of waste
The A's are reliably the first team to stop drafting, thus they "waste" draft picks by not even drafting anybody in those rounds.  They also drafted Jeremy Slayden a few years ago and from reports never really intended to sign him, and there are always a few guys in each draft that the A's don't sign in later rounds.  I have a suspicion that Billy may have heard that some team was going to draft Smoak and throw big money at him, and drafted him to prevent this.  Billy's strange explanation that he wanted Smoak to attend school (pure and simple B.S.) out of some fatherly concern for Smoak makes me think there is more to the story than Billy wanted to tell us.  
I'd like to eat my lunch, but Billy just kicked me out of my office.

by BlameChannel53 on Jan 31, 2007 10:12 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

that could be the case
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:19 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Better to control his rights
than let someone else with more money control them. Once he attended his first class he lost his draft eligibility until his Junior year. This way the A's were being to proactive to keep hope alive in 2008.
This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 11:10 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Not that You or I will do this
    But your comment made me think about how often a team actually (successfully) drafted a player twice. Bonds was originally drafted by the Giants but held out for I believe a whopping $75K then went to Arizona for college ball.

   If a player such as Smoak gets injured come draft time, yet is productive during his tenure he may indeed slip into Beane's hands. Yeah, that's it another injured Athletic farmhand, but this time we'll take em before Crosby has an opportunity to procure bodily harm.

"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King

by Gerard on Jan 31, 2007 11:40 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Low Risk, high reward....
hasn't that worked in our favor before?

by norcalfan on Jan 31, 2007 7:03 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

In case his beloved great aunt bessie
gets sick and he needs half a mil quick.

In case the University of South Carolina baseball team's coach turns out to actually be a catholic priest.

In case shit happens and that shit has greater odds of happening than the team finding a real prospect in the 16th round.

by devo on Jan 31, 2007 9:40 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

what about the odds
of that 500k difference being used in a meaningful way elsewhere the the organization compared to the odds of smoak signing for a million and being that rare "real prospect in the 16th round"?
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 9:44 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

A player is worth $X
Beane beats the market by paying $X-Y. Why would we ever consider it wise to pay a player $X*2?

by devo on Jan 31, 2007 10:06 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

It's wise to pay 2X
if you're convinced that he's worth 4X.

I know it's early and the 2008 draft is 18 months away, but at the rate Smoak is going BA has already mentioned his name as the possible #1 overall pick in the 2008 draft. I'd give you a link but there isn't one that I know of. The mention is from the 2007 Prospect Handbook.

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 11:08 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Smoak is
gonna rake with the Rockies :) hopefully we get to see him at a Modesto Nuts game.
By the way, was that the #1 player picked or the #1 non Pitcher picked that BA was saying?
"Choosing between Milledge and Gomez is like choosing between Mozart and Beethoven" --NY Mets Message Boards

by apilgrim on Jan 31, 2007 11:23 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

ah overall
#1 overall, I missed that the first read over. He's got some pretty nice numbers.
"Choosing between Milledge and Gomez is like choosing between Mozart and Beethoven" --NY Mets Message Boards

by apilgrim on Jan 31, 2007 11:24 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

How can you be convinced he's
worth 4X that number?  I see a lot of people here assuming this kid is the second coming of Albert Pujols and I just don't get where the infatuation is coming from.  Yeah, he may turn out to be a great player, but for right now, he's still just a young prospect who hasn't spent a second in pro ball.

The A's took a chance drafting him late in case he decided he didn't want to go to school.  It was a good risk in my opinion.  He obviously wanted to go to school and the A's wound up getting a player who could potentially be joining the team this year instead.  I'd say it was a good trade off.  It was also a good move for Smoak as if he will be the first pick, he'll be getting a hell of a lot more than what he originally wanted.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 11:29 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Convinced?
I'm bending over backward to say that a lot can happen between now and the 2008 draft that could affect Smoak's draft status negatively. However, as of right now Smoak was named an All-American as a true freshman and BA named him the top prospect in the 2006 Cape Cod League. That's early 1st round pedigree.

So if Smoak does indeed go 1st overall in 2008, he'll be looking at a $4 million signing bonus. If X = $1 million and 4X = $4million.

I'm not saying Beane lied to you. He bent the truth of the matter. You and I both know the A's discussed signing terms with any and all potential early round targets, that's SOP. He wanted $1 million, the A's were only willing to go $950K.

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 11:57 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

In 2008, the team potentially drafting him first
will be getting a much more certain product than what we selected in the 16th round.

Whatever Smoak may have been asking for, whether it was a million or a billion, Beane, giving what the world knew about Smoak at the time, did not think he was worth it.

More so, the $950k is not what the A's were reported to have offered him after drafting him in the 16th round -- it was what they were talking about offering him if they picked him with the 36th pick.

We drafted someone else with that 36th pick, gave that someone else the ~$950k that is appropriate for such a pick and, all of a sudden, we were left with ~$950k less in the budget.

As Billy Beane said, it is preposterous to suggest that the deal fell apart over $50k. You find it offensive to suggest that Smoak may said something different publically and privately, yet you assumed that Beane is flat out lying about something that it's just laughable to think he was lying about. Come on, you're smarter than that, Grover.

by devo on Jan 31, 2007 12:14 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

you're right, the deal fell apart over $950k
we're so f'ing cheap as an organization that we can't scrounge up an extra $950k for a guy we consider a first round pick who we stole in the 16th round, essentially giving us an extra first round pick.

if anything changes after the move to fremont, i hope it's that.  f*** rooting for the names on the back of the uniform instead of the front, and watching a player stay with the a's throughout their career.  i don't even see how those are necessarily positive changes, it just means we're more likely to end up with todd helton / vernon wells type contracts.

i'll settle for "now we have enough money to draft actual first round talent in with our first round picks (moneyball draft) and to pay a 16th round pick first round pick money if we think he's a first round talent."

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 12:34 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

The bottom line
is that, however much Smoak was asking for was apparently more than the A's or any other major league team felt he was worth at the time.
In the stands the home crowd scatters For the turnstiles

by andeux on Jan 31, 2007 1:13 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

but the a's may have felt smoak was worth more
than any other major league team at the time.  
he was ranked 96th by BA, but the a's were most likely willing to take him 36th and give him $950k.  
and the reason we didn't do so is probably because we're poor/cheap.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 1:29 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

No, we didn't do it ...
because, either a) we liked Travis Buck more; or b) we had serious doubt that we could actually sign him for $950k.

Good for us, if we had a better read on Smoak than anyone else. It's hardly a fair criticism, though, to not realize that he was a no doubt future hall of famer, despite never having played against anyone over the age of 18.

by devo on Jan 31, 2007 1:47 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

that's not what i meant
sure, buck with the 36th pick b/c of smoak's signability, but we didn't give smoak $1 million after drafting him in the 16th round because we're too poor/cheap.
and we DID think he was worth $1 million as the 36th pick, so whether we liked buck more or whether he had played against anyone over 18 isn't really the issue, because we could have had both buck and smoak.
we had a better read on smoak than anyone else, and instead of spending the $1 million to magically turn a 16th round pick into an extra 36th pick (meaning, we'd have pennington, buck, and smoak), we chose not to make him an offer.  
so, once again, we're too poor/cheap to spend $1 million for an extra 36th pick.  i hope that changes once we move to fremont.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 1:53 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

and that's the same reason
we drafted a bunch of steve stanleys in the moneyball draft, because we're poor.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 1:56 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

He should have read my articles on SMOAK!!
:)
http://www.silverandblackpride.com/

by saint on Jan 31, 2007 3:55 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

I guarantee that if Boston knew he would
Sign for 1 million he would have been drafted and signed by them. Reese Havens too!!!

Beane missed a layup and that's that.

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/

by saint on Jan 31, 2007 3:55 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Why are you throwing me batting practice, Devo?
Little busy right now, I'll come back to this later.
This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 1:40 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Hello again
Told you I'd come back to this post.

"In 2008, the team potentially drafting him first
will be getting a much more certain product than what we selected in the 16th round."

Yes. Which is why'd he'd get even more money than he wanted in 2005. My original comment re: 4X wasn't specifically about Smoak, it was in response to your generic question about signing an unspecified player to a 2X sum. This hypothetical equation of yours doesn't really factor in to the discussion over Smoak, the difference between the two sides wasn't twice the offered amount.

In fact, I think it's about time you dropped the vague dollar amount arguement all together. Smoak has said $1 million. Beane did not acknowledge that specific number but he alluded to the figure by saying "To his credit, he made it quite clear the amount of money that he was interested in signing for." This was an ideal setting for Beane to state something along the line of what you've been saying, that Smoak was saying one thing in public and another in private. But Beane didn't go there, did he? We're talking about a $1 million signing bonus.

So, in essence, the deal did break down over the difference of $50K. The A's floated $950K. Smoak said no, he wanted a million. Meanwhile, another prospect the A's liked at #36 (Travis Buck) said yes to a $950K bonus. So Beane didn't even try to negotiate with Smoak, he just went to Plan B. (And who knows, maybe Buck was the original Plan A but I just like the symmetry of Plan B and Buck. Yeah, I know, I'm easily amused.)

Beane said he never made Smoak an offer and HE DIDN'T... not a FORMAL offer anyways. But you can be sure the two sides discussed dollar figures.

"More so, the $950k is not what the A's were reported to have offered him after drafting him in the 16th round -- it was what they were talking about offering him if they picked him with the 36th pick."

This is a completely irrelevant arguement, devo. Smoak's price was $1 million and it didn't matter if he was drafted at #36 or #236... his price was going to be the same. Smoak was going to South Carolina unless someone made him a millionaire. The A's weren't willing to match that price.

There is only one question left to answer... are the A's going to regret that decision? We'll find out soon enough.

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 7:28 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

bending the truth
"You and I both know the A's discussed signing terms with any and all potential early round targets, that's SOP."

for example, in moneyball.

you're right, beane didn't lie.  he just answered a question that no one was asking.  i don't think any of us were wondering "did the a's ever make smoak a formal offer after drafting him?" but now we know the answer to that question.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 12:15 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Yeah
It's like what I said in a post from Part I: Beane is a professional bullshit artist.  I have deposed many people like Beane, and narrowing a question with a qualified answer is one of the "official professional B.S." tricks of the trade.  A skilled attorney would grill Beane on that qualifier, but I would not expect Blez to do it; simply having the opportunity to sit down with Beane and give us AN folks some answers is an amazing accomplishment for Blez and less than candid answers is part of what we have to accept as the price for doing business.  Blez does a good job answering the most piercing questions he can while not angering Beane.  I would like to swear Beane in and make him answer my questions, however.
I'd like to eat my lunch, but Billy just kicked me out of my office.

by BlameChannel53 on Jan 31, 2007 1:10 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

yes, but have you depodestaed people like Beane?
a happy interloper in the world, bringing a pornographic insouciance to everyone's dull day ~ Tim Goodman @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jan 31, 2007 1:49 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

"Deposedesta"
v., -tad, -ta·ing, -tas
  1. To relieve a general manager of his duties from the LA Dodgers baseball club, esp. at the behest of local media.  Colletti better win the NL West, or else he might get Deposedestad.
  2. ar. To ignore the wisdom of a grizzled scout at the behest of a bespectacled assistant general manager.
Stat Wonk Futurist

by salb918 on Jan 31, 2007 1:59 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

"Deposedusty"
  1. To come to one's senses, realize that one's farm system is only capable of producing pitching prospects, and not retain a manager with a penchant for shredding young arms.
  2. To leak incorrect but potentially damaging sensitive information about a soon-to-be-ex-employee to the media in order to avoid being Deposedestaed oneself.
a happy interloper in the world, bringing a pornographic insouciance to everyone's dull day ~ Tim Goodman @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jan 31, 2007 2:27 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

"Deposedersty"
  1. To sign an expensive mediocrity in centerfield after a career year to replace another expensive mediocrity in centerfield who was alos signed after a career year.
  2. To extend a contract offer to a rival player only to withdraw after the alcohol wears off.
Stat Wonk Futurist

by salb918 on Jan 31, 2007 2:50 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

It's all clear to me:
Beane actually cleared it up.

He made a mistake and cleared it up with Cahill. We have to move on.

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/

by saint on Jan 31, 2007 3:52 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

Hmmm
Again.....this sounds familier
Anybody want a van-popple tart?

by norcalfan on Jan 31, 2007 7:07 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

possible #1 overall pick
that's just depressing.

once again: we look forward to seeing you get drafted by another team and having a great career.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 12:26 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

You mean
it was a smoakscreen? You gotta hand it to Billy. He would have made a great trial lawyer. Everything comes down to money don't you know?

by Salvatore on Jan 31, 2007 1:58 PM PST to parent up   0 recs

what is a ridiculous sum of money?
smoak/BA: $1 million, is that ridiculous?  
beane doesn't contradict that number, and he says smoak "made it quite clear the amount of money that he was interested in signing for."

smoak was projected to go in the first round, obviously he's not going to sign for 16th round money, that would be idiotic.
if you draft him in the 16th round and sign him for $1 million, that's like having an extra first round pick.  
how much money did we give to cliff pennington in that same draft?

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 9:33 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Billy made it clear that they weren't $50,000
apart like BA reported.  He called it total fiction.  Smoak obviously was asking for something that Beane wasn't willing to pay.  I don't think it was a million.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 9:42 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

you're totally misinterpreting his comments, blez
beane did say they weren't $50k apart, but that does NOT mean smoak was asking for over a million.

what it does mean is that smoak was most likely asking for $1 million, and the a's were most likely offering $0, as in no offer was even made.
therefore $50k apart is total fiction, it's $1 million apart.

evidence for smoak $1 million:
"To his credit, he made it quite clear the amount of money that he was interested in signing for."

evidence for a's $0:
"We never even made an offer to Justin."
"We never even made an offer.  That was total fiction."

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 9:49 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I think it's pretty clear that if he was
only asking for a million, he would've been taken where he was projected and not in the late rounds as a gamble.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 9:58 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

not true
before the draft: "i'm almost certainly going to south carolina." (made up quote, but pretty much what he was saying, based on BA)

smoak slides in draft from first or second round to 16th round due to questions about signability.

after the draft: "I'll sign for one million dollars, and nothing less," Smoak says. "Right now I'm planning to follow my dreams to South Carolina and play for Ray Tanner." (actual quote)

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:10 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

well then someone is lying
"Justin and I had a conversation at one point even though he had a number that he wanted he was very committed to going to South Carolina and I congratulated him on that decision.  

We never even made an offer.  That was total fiction.  I can assure you that if we were between $950,000 and a million dollars we would've found a way to get it done."

When did this conversation take place?  Was this after the 1 million comment or before.  Is 1 million the number that he was "very committed" to according to Beane.  If it was then hes saying we wouldve found a way to get it done.  

Someone isnt telling the truth here.

"...we don't score six, seven runs. We score three, four runs and play defense and pitch" - Eric Chavez

by pickinmachine on Jan 31, 2007 10:19 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

There is another possibility..
..courtesy of the conspiracy theorist in me - what if Billy drafted Smoak to NOT sign him, so he would go to school, in return for a favor from said school coach down the road?

Is there anyone at South Carolina who looms large on the radar that might be steered towards us?

Probably not, but it's possible.

"Kotsay is 31... Kotsay's back is 127." - Jeepers

by Ozzz on Jan 31, 2007 10:33 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

We have drafted a lot of South Carolina guys . . .
I'd like to eat my lunch, but Billy just kicked me out of my office.

by BlameChannel53 on Jan 31, 2007 10:35 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

i don't understand what you're saying here
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:34 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

someone is lying
Either smoak is lying about signing for 1 million or Beane is lying about "getting something done" for 950k-1 million.  
"...we don't score six, seven runs. We score three, four runs and play defense and pitch" - Eric Chavez

by pickinmachine on Jan 31, 2007 11:56 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

Beane said that if they were only $50 K
off, he would've gotten a deal done.  And I believe him.  I bet Smoak said $1 million later but probably wanted a lot more when he thought he was going earlier at the 36th pick.

Regardless, the kid sounds like he was convinced he was going to school.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 10:22 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

see BA article below
-$950k was offered by the a's when they were thinking of taking him with the 36th overall pick.
-smoak rejected it b/c he was planning on going to south carolina.  
-smoak fell in the draft because everyone thought he was going to college.  
-a's drafted smoak in the 16th round.  
-smoak said he was happy going to south carolina, but that he'd sign with the a's for $1 million, no less.  
-a's never made him an offer, so they were never $50k apart.

that doesn't contradict anything from the beane interview or the BA article.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:30 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I don't know
seems like there's a contradiction there.  Beane said:
We never even made an offer.  That was total fiction.

BA claims the A's were offering $950 K.  That seems like a pretty clear contradiction to me.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 10:38 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

i think he means after drafting him
and the 950k wasn't a formal offer, just what the a's were prepared to offer before the draft:
"which was prepared to offer him $950,000 as the 36th overall pick"
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:46 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

I don't know
I tend to believe the guy who has the power to actually make the offer and not some reporters who don't quote a source.

by Blez on Jan 31, 2007 10:50 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

i agree
but in this case there's no reason to choose one over the other because the two statements aren't mutually exclusive or contradictory.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jan 31, 2007 10:52 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

The A's may not have made an OFFER
But you can bet they would have discussed TERMS with anyone they were considering to draft with a 1st round pick.

It's no coincidence that the A's signed the 36th pick, Travis Buck, to a $950K signing bonus. That's (appearently) all they were willing to spend/had budgeted to spend on the 36th pick.

This guy is dead! We'll list him as day-to-day for possible reincarnation.
A's Medical Staff, 2006

by grover on Jan 31, 2007 11:04 AM PST to parent up   0 recs

You have to wonder...
I wonder if Beane will EVER dole out BIG CASH for high school talent.  He knows firsthand what can happen to First Round Talent.  More than likely, that First Rounder will not live up to expectations.  A lot can happen between High School - A - AA - AAA - MLB... personally and professionally.

Unfortunately, Beane sees himself in a lot of these Talented High School Baseball Players w/ college aspirations.  Why bowl a kid over with BIG $$$ when in the end, it might not be in the best interest of both parties.

by Colorado Fan on Jan 31, 2007 3:47 PM PST to parent up   0 recs