Several Good Reasons

Will Carroll has managed to get Michael Lewis on Baseball Prospectus Radio this week.

Michael Lewis is the author of Moneyball, the book that forces people in the stands to wonder what you’re doing reading during batting practice when there are baseballs whizzing by your head.

Will is so cool he’s also wrangled Billy Beane this week on BP Radio.

This week's BPR will be all about "Moneyball", the controversial new
book giving the insider look at the Oakland A's. Excerpted in NY
Times Magazine and this week in Sports Illustrated, "Moneyball" is
currently #20 on the Amazon.com bestseller list and will debut on
the NY Times Best Seller list next week.

In his only national radio interview, author Michael Lewis
will speak with BPR about the book, what he saw in his year with the
A's, and whether the controversy surrounding the book is justified.

That might be enough for many, but not BPR. We'll also have the
subject of "Moneyball", Billy Beane. Beane is currently General
Manager of the Oakland A's and a former major league baseball
player. His unique approach is changing the game, but his brash
personality is rubbing many the wrong way. Is it truth or sour
grapes? Only BPR will have Beane during the week of publication.

More details on BPR can be found at: radio.baseballprospectus.com
Netfeed at 9am Eastern on www.espn950.com.

We’ve been trying to get connected to the site, but it might be too busy. Keep trying and we’re sure you’ll get in, eventually.

We’ve finished Moneyball, twice. We’re still thinking of how to present the book to you in a way that is not condescending. But, that thinking takes too much effort. So, go get a copy of the book yourself and by next week we can all have a good debate on the subject. We have a link on the right that takes you to Amazon.com. It’s cheaper by 10-15% than getting it at a bookstore.

The great part about Moneyball is that the chapters tend to stand on their own, making it a great book to easily slip into and easily depart in a short period of time.

That’s code for, “buy an extra copy for the bathroom”.

Lewis has a writing style that allows depth through simplicity and allows the reader to be either naïve or educated and still be enthralled by the journey.

Plus, it’s got a cool look into a few players and the process of how some become an Oakland Athletics and why some get Milo’d.

Also, the book mentions Jeremy Brown and Nick Swisher. A pair that we hope to see as the first catching tandem in an ongoing experiment to allow catchers to have an extended playing career while still be able to walk 50 feet pain free by age 40.

On a separate note, the Elephants in Oakland Staff Car is now ready to be picked up. We’ll be flying to Philadelphia, hopefully get a chance for coffee with Mike of Mike’s Baseball Rants and then catch the A’s in Cleveland Friday night.

We’re going to drag the laptop along, but don’t expect too many postcard posts. We’ll do our best, though. We still refuse to purchase a cell phone to do remote posting.