Miles, Fox Trot To Oakland

The real world took us away from the computer almost as soon as we heard Jake Fox and Aaron Miles were being shipped to Oakland for the prospects behind door No. 3.
And that gave us a lot of time to do some thinking.

After being unsure of how I felt about the deal, I've come to the conclusion this is a win for the Cubs.  I know it's irresponsbile to make such a ruling hours after a trade is made, but a careful overview of the deal shows the Cubs with the early advantage.

Sure, for the second straight season Hendry traded a fan favorite.  Boo frickin' hoo.  How much attachment can you have toward a player who posted a .259/.311/.779 slash line in 2009 with 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in?  It's not as if Fox was going to start at either corner outfield or corner infield position next season, so Cubs fans need to quit acting like they just traded the second coming of Ron Santo.

Besides, it is not as if the Cubs traded away Megan Fox.  That would be something to jump off a high ledge because of.

It's time to give kudos to general manager Jim Hendry for dealing a player while his value was at its highest.  And if Fox becomes a valuable designated hitter in Oakland, so be it.  I'm not too worried about it, especially when taking into consideration Oakland's Coliseum is where home runs go to die.  Playing in Oakland turned everyone's free agent savior Matt Holliday into a mere mortal.

Again.  Why am I supposed to be upset over this trade?

Oh, because they traded Aaron Miles, too.

Wait.  That's a good thing.

Miles was given $2.2 million this season to hit .185/.224/..244/.466.  The diminutive dipshit collected 29 base hits, eight walks and five RBIs cementing his legacy as the worst free agent signing of the Jim Hendry era.

The only way Hendry can possibly screw this up is by not having a player in mind to replace Fox's production off the bench.  Replacing Miles with a cardboard cutout of Cindy Crawford would likely yield an upgrade in production.

In return, the Cubs received a wee-bit more than a bag of dirty towels, Jason Giambi syringes and copies of the original Moneyball script.  They got Jeff Gray ...  and prospects.

Though, I'll admit, had Beane sent a copy of Aaron Sorkin's script, I would have been overjoyed to accept that for Fox, Miles and $1 million.  To get warm bodies in exchange for that package is like making a dollar out of a penny slot.

TBDS Late Night: I Won't Let Billy Beane's Star Fade

I got this pushed across my path toward the end of the work day, so what I had originally planned on writing about got pushed back to a later date. Why? Because I must defend Billy Beane.

And despite this glowing piece on ESPN (via @MoneyballMovie) the Oakland A's general manager has lost one of his biggest fans, ESPN's Rob Neyer, who had some not-so-nice things to say in the aftermath of the Matt Holliday trade.

"If the A's made a trade like this two years ago, I would have organized a parade to celebrate Billy Beane's great wisdom.

Today? I just can't do it. Instead of seeing three prospects obtained for a song, I wonder why the A's would want a "pear-shaped" third baseman who doesn't have much power and is widely thought to be a future first baseman, and I think about what a disaster Oakland's last first-baseman-of-the-future (Daric Barton) has been. Instead of applauding Beane for adding to the organization's pitching depth, I wonder what the A's -- who already have eight starting pitchers 25 or younger -- could possibly do with another young starter. And I wonder how Peterson's going to succeed where Ryan Sweeney and Travis Buck and Aaron Cunningham haven't."

This is me admitting something I don't want to admit. The original Moneyball concept is dead. The secret is out. OBP. OPS. Bill James' wisdom. All of it. Dead.

It's like befriending that one average looking young lady friend when she was "just alright" and your friends would have laughed at you had you actually dated her. Then she got hot overnight, and yeah, you two fooled around. Heck, you were the talk of the town. Then she left you and has been gettin' her freak on all around town. Now she's used goods and you're old news.

However, there is still hope for the underlying theme of the concept. Hoarding (and developing) young talent.

Oakland can't compete with the big boys because they cannot afford the price to keep the Hollidays of the world long enough. So they stockpile prospects instead. And if enough prospects flourish, then you have a winning cycle. It's a shame that Beane's genius is being wasted for an ownership group that wouldn't spend a penny to make a dollar.

Oftentimes, I've called for Beane to be the next Cubs GM once a real owner heads into town. Not based on my man crush on Beane, my love of the Michael Lewis best-seller or the movie that is coming out that will star Brad Pitt as the Outback Steakhouse waitress slaying, smooth-talking smoother criminal.

I've wanted Beane to come to Chicago and develop a farm system so the Cubs can be a real team.

Since 1998, when Beane became Oakland's GM, the A's have developed more home grown talent than the Cubs have. Then, the home grown talent gets turned into someone else's overlooked young talent.

Imagine had the following pitching staff been able to stay healthy and in tact: Dan Haren, Rich Harden, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito.

Or if Oakland had the loot to keep Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Nick Swisher around.

If Oakland's owners had Bill Gates money, the West Coast baseball scene would be poppin' like Tupac's California Love video. Instead, the Oakland baseball soundtrack plays like an old blues record.

Billy Beane Mini-Profile

Seriously. I wonder what Alyssa Milano's BABIP is?

While the statheads chuckle, the rest of you can move on to the rest of the post.

I'd like to take a look at why when and how Billy Beane has lost more talent than the former Montreal Expos and still can be competitive in the AL West.

He's had Cy Young winners (Barry Zito and Mark Mulder) and staff aces (Tim Hudson and Rich Harden) to go along with MVPs (Miguel Tejada and Jason Giambi) all come up through his system and all leave Oakland for greener pastures.

How does he do it?

Zito: I think Beane got a little lucky with Zito moving across the Bay, especially when you take into consideration Zito tweaked his mechanics after signing that record deal with the Giants. It was a disaster from the beginning.

Mulder: Beane retroactively pissed on Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty and simultaneously screamed "No homo!" in the process. Mulder's been injury riddled in his time with the Redbirds and in exchange he got (among others) Dan Haren, which he turned into Arizona Diamondbacks prospects Greg Smith and Dana Eveland.

Hudson: If anyone was gonna get the better of Beane it would be John Schuerholz. Hudson has won 52 games in four-plus seasons. Juan Cruz, Charles Thomas and Dan Meyer haven't really panned out.

Harden: Beane and the A's are treating Chicago like its own personal farm system. Months after getting Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney and Fautino De Los Santos from the White Sox for Nick Swisher. The Athletics acquire Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson.

Donaldson, Gallagher and Patterson were ranked Nos. 5, 6 and 8 according to Baseball Prospectus' Top 11 prospects.

Tejada and Giambi: Both left after MVP seasons with the A's and both were linked to BALCO. In the end, the A's got compensatory draft picks.

And in the end, that's what it's all about with Billy Beane. When you can't compete with the big boys like the Los Angeles boys and the New Yorkers you have to find other ways to beat the system.

Sometimes you have to out scout the competition. Sometimes you have to do some number crunching. Sometimes you have to realize service years on the cheap from top prospects might be worth more to your team than overpaying in the open market.

My cap's off to you Billy Beane, master of the maneuver.