"Moneyball": a short, emphatic but uninformative review.

When I was eleven or twelve, I asked for, and got, for Christmas a book of baseball history covering from the mid-19th century to 1972.  It was a hefty volume.

I awoke at five. I beat everyone up by at least an hour.  I unwrapped it and began to read.  A very fast reader, I was done by noon. I reread it.  And re-reread it.* 

I have been a baseball fan for most of my life.  My first love was my beloved Mets.  And then the Red Sox in college, who were supplanted by the As when I went to law school.  And then, miracle of miracles, the (Devil) Rays were spawned, and I have been their staunch supporter ever since, even when they were at their worst.

Tonight I saw Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as As General Manager Billy Beane during the 2002 season.  And I say to you, as someone who remembers this period in As history, and who actually owns a copy of Bill James...

If you like Brad Pitt (I don't, but at least I respect him now), go see this movie. If you love the Oakland As**, go see this movie.

But most of all, if you love the game, go see this movie. 

*One of the only times I have completely run a round at trivia was "Match the nickname to the baseball player."  This book was a big reason why.

**I do love the As, only not so much as the Rays.  The Rocket Scientist and I saw two of the games they won during the Quake Series of '89.  We had tickets to games six and seven, but the As swept the Series. They are third on my list of favorite teams, after the Rays and Mets and before the Red Sox.   The other local team (the one in orange and black) is high up on the list of teams I actively dislike. That list is headed, of course, by those damned Yankees.