Beane Interview 7/11/09

Good news: Beane says he will stay with the A's "until they [owners] don't want [him]"

Bad news: When asked if Bob Geren's job is safe, Beane responds yes.

about 1 year ago muffinpryde 16 comments 6 recs |

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Read More: billy beane, Oakland Athletics

Comments

Thanks for posting this.

by LowcountryJoe on Jul 12, 2009 5:36 AM PDT reply actions

No problem

And thanks to whoever rec’d this, I feel special :-)

They say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing all the time!

by muffinpryde on Jul 12, 2009 4:06 PM PDT up reply actions

I was one of the bloggers who rec'd this...

"Where's the beef?"

by MMunoz33 on Jul 12, 2009 8:34 PM PDT up reply actions

This is a pathetic attempt to calm the storm...

"Where's the beef?"

by MMunoz33 on Jul 12, 2009 9:10 AM PDT reply actions

Storm = Calmed. Not.

by Jackson23 on Jul 13, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions

But I'll take more wins like the past two days.

Preferably with earlier scoring!

by Jackson23 on Jul 13, 2009 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions

I know you tried to dampen the bad news with some good news

but it didn’t help.

I don't always blog. But when I do, I prefer AN. Stay thirsty my friends.

by Kallus on Jul 13, 2009 10:27 PM PDT reply actions

If beane is content with working for the A's

Then why does he always bitch about having to deal with constraints of “small-market” team? Even though the bay area is anything but a small market. It seems to be a convenient excuse for never winning when it counts, despite all the hype about his skills as a GM.

plz kthx lol omg wtf rofl

by AsFan4mFrisco on Jul 14, 2009 12:01 PM PDT reply actions

please show me where he complains about it

"if gio would of ptched,he would of pitched shoot outs." - MR.OAKLAND

"Anyone who calls themselves the Angels Angels should have to start over and ride the short bus." -timmeh from McCovey Chronicles

by Cheezombie on Jul 14, 2009 7:26 PM PDT up reply actions

That's easy...

Look up any interview he’s ever given.

plz kthx lol omg wtf rofl

by AsFan4mFrisco on Jul 15, 2009 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

I have never seen him complain

I’ve seen him explain that he can’t do certain things because of their position, but that’s not really complaining.

"if gio would of ptched,he would of pitched shoot outs." - MR.OAKLAND

"Anyone who calls themselves the Angels Angels should have to start over and ride the short bus." -timmeh from McCovey Chronicles

by Cheezombie on Jul 15, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Lets see

First he says he accepts the parameters of his position and understands that he’s expected to succeed in these condition, meaning winning a world series.

Then in the next breath he says “I can’t do it because I don’t have enough money because Oakland is actually a small town in the middle of nowhere.” or something along those lines.

How do you reconcile these two contradictory statements from beane. This is nothing but bullshit excuses in my book. Either win with what you’ve got or G.T.F.O.

plz kthx lol omg wtf rofl

by AsFan4mFrisco on Jul 16, 2009 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions

My what intensity you have there in your post!

Maybe you can send some leftovers to Booby Geren?

"Where's the beef?"

by MMunoz33 on Jul 16, 2009 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions

He has never said "I can't do it"

or words to that effect.
The playoffs in baseball never, and I mean never, can be regarded as a fair test of very good teams. No matter who you have bought for your team, spent money, there is no way that you can simply outspend your opponents to guarantee and outcome. Since Arizona vs NYY in the World Series, what have the Yankees spent, and what have they won? Florida beat them in the WS.

As Beane has always consistently said, the playoffs are “a crapshoot”. Remember when the A’s lost to Minnesota a few years back, in Miggy’s walk year?? Miggy was physically sick for the playoffs….doesn’t matter WHAT his salary was.

Beane’s only realistic goal, always stated, is to “get to the playoffs, year after year”. I’m sure he’s hoping for a Rivera-Jeter-Posada-type young core of players to emerge, that will carry a team through consecutive championships. But that takes a LOT of luck. He knows that.

"It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics. " GB Shaw

by One won lost won on Jul 21, 2009 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Three quibbles...

1. I think he’s leaning on injuries too much. I’m sorry, but while the number of injury days may be alot, it seems limited to a relative small handful of players. Duke all year (so far). Chavez almost all year. Dvine all year. And so on.

I’m not sure how they measured it for the article. They talked about breaking the record again, but from my POV injuries is not the primary problem. Underachievement, I think, is the primary cause of the suck this year.

(Geren) makes the process, at least from our end, very pleasant because he always sees the glass half full.

Maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe it shouldn’t be so ‘pleasant’.

3. If they’re going to lose money this year it’s because they’ve cut back so far on promotions and such (read: baseball entertainment) that they’ve driven away the casual non-fan who, unfortunately but necessarily, needs to be there to foot the bill.

In 2008 I was watching a team that was rebuilding. In 2009 I feel like I'm watching a team that just sucks.

by UncleLeo on Jul 14, 2009 8:57 PM PDT reply actions

I don't believe a "whining Geren" would be an improvement

Look at the Yankees, 1949-1962. Casey Stengel had been a mediocre manager up until then. It was the players who boosted each other, drove each other. Sure, Stengel had a bit more baseball experience than Geren, but I doubt the A’s would have a winning record with the 1952 Casey Stengel at the helm.

I’d give the worst manager to best manager comparison a WAR differential of eight games, tops.

"It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics. " GB Shaw

by One won lost won on Jul 21, 2009 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions