Moneyball

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[CROWD CHEERING]

ANNOUNCER 1:

Ball one to Johnny Damon

and we are under way.

Damon has eight hits

in 18 at bats,

a double, a triple,

a couple of stolen bases.

He had four hits

in the series opener.

Strike.

[]

Down the right-field line,

fair off the bat of Damon.

It rolls by Spencer.

And Damon will coast into

second base with a leadoff double.

Into right-center field, broken bat,

it'll fall, a base hit.

They wave around Damon.

He will score.

And Jason Giambi delivers

with a run-scoring single

here in the opening inning.

And the Athletics

have taken that 1 -nothing lead.

MAN:

Go, come on, now. We gotta spin it.

CROWD [CHANTING]:

Let's go, Yankees!

Let's go, Yankees!

ANNOUNCER 1:

Bases loaded.

The Yankees have the tying run

at second, down 2-nothing.

The A's are kicking it and throwing it

all over the field.

And it might lead to their elimination

if they don't get it right in a hurry.

Hammered down the right-field line.

Justice!

The Yankees have taken the lead.

They're standing,

anticipating another trip

to the League

Championship Series.

The Yankees one out away.

ANNOUNCER 2:

Eric Byrnes, never with an

at bat in Yankee Stadium,

and they don't get

much bigger than this one.

Or more hectic when you're

up there trying to get a job done.

ANNOUNCER 1 [ON RADIO]:

And they're a strike away.

And they're roaring in the Bronx.

Losing the first two games at home

in the best-of-five series

and roar back to--

[RADIO CLICKS OFF]

[CROWD CHEERING ON RADIO]

ANNOUNCER 1:

The Yankees will defend their title.

[RADIO CLICKS OFF]

[FRED EBB & JOHN KANDER'S

"NEW YORK, NEW YORK"

PLAYING ON TV]

[TV TURNS OFF]

It's okay, Joe, you can leave it on.

I don't need to watch.

Joe, leave it on.

Okay.

ANNOUNCER 2 [ON RADIO]:

Imagine how bad it'd be

if you were a Yankee player

and didn't like the taste

of champagne.

Better ask to get traded.

You gotta give the Yankees--

--win the big game.

ANNOUNCER 1:

What a series that is

gonna be in the next...

[]

CALLER [ON RADIO]:

You know how many kids

are wearing Giambi's--?

You know, Oakland Giambi's jerseys

and hats and pictures and posters?

HOST:
Those same kids

will be booing in July when

the Yankees come here.

Is it Giambi that's stabbing the back

or the Pinstripes on the East Coast?

CALLER:

You can't blame them

for pilfering the henhouse.

The henhouse is there.

HOST:
I can't blame them?

They're offering $120 million

oer six years.

The Yankees have

deeper pockets and they're

willing to give him money.

They're pilfering our players.

It's like we're a farm system

for the New York Yankees.

How are the guys doing?

BILLY:
That was a killer.

That was a killer.

It's a tough one to swallow. It's...

They played great.

They played their hearts out.

They did. They played fantastic.

It just didn't fall our way.

You'll do better next year.

But we were close, though.

We were so close.

Right there.

Almost had it. You gotta

feel good about that.

I feel great about it.

I feel great about it.

Um...

We're not gonna do better

next year.

Why not?

Well, you know we're being gutted.

We're losing Giambi,

Damon, Isringhausen.

Done deal.

We're in trouble.

You'll find new guys.

You found Jason, you found Damon.

I need more money, Steve.

Billy.

I need more money.

We don't have any.

I can't compete against $120 million

with $38 million.

We're not gonna compete with

these teams that have big budgets.

We're gonna work

within the constraints we have,

and you're gonna do the best job

that you can recruiting new players.

We're not gonna pay $17 million

to players.

I'm not asking you

for 10 or 20, 30 million dollars.

I'm just asking for a bit of help.

Get me a little closer

and I will get you that

championship team.

I mean, this is why I'm here.

This is why you hired me.

And I gotta ask you,

what are we doing here

Billy, I--

if it's not to win a championship?

I wanna win just as much--

That's my bar. My bar is here.

My bar is to take this team

to the championship.

Billy, we're a small-market team,

and you're a small-market GM.

I'm asking you to be okay

not spending money

that I don't have.

And I'm asking you

to take a deep breath,

shake off the loss, get back

in a room with your guys,

and figure out how to find

replacements for the guys we lost

with the money that we do have.

I'm not leaving here. I'm not--

I can't leave here with that.

What else can I help you with?

MAN 1 [OVER PHONE]:

It's a good offer,

and you gotta match it. I--

I need another day.

His mind's pretty made up.

I just think you should know that.

[PHONE RINGING]

I got a call. I'll get you back.

I'll let him know.

Bye.

Yeah?

MAN 2:
Billy, Scott.

Just got off the phone with Dan.

You didn't.

I was surprised he called me.

Stop. I got Johnny for 7.5

or he doesn't play anywhere else.

That's the deal you made.

Boston just upped it to 7.75.

You there?

We had a deal, Scott.

We have a deal, if it's 8 million.

Oh, man, you played me.

I'm just doing my job for my client.

No, you're playing me,

and you're still playing me.

Congratulations, a**hole.

You win.

[PHONE CLATTERS]

[]

MAN 1:
I like guys that got

a little hair on their ass.

MAN 2:
He looks like a Mantle

or a Mays, quite frankly.

He's got a baseball body.

Matty, who do you got?

MAN 3:
I like Geronimo.

Yes.

MAN 3:

The guy's an athlete.

Big, fast, talented.

Top of my list.

POTE:
Clean-cut, good face.

Yeah, good jaw.

Five-tools guy.

Good-looking ballplayer.

BILLY:
Can he hit?

KEOUGH:
He's got a beautiful swing.

The ball explodes off his bat.

He throws the club head at the ball,

and when he connects,

he drives it,

it pops off the bat.

You can hear it all over the ballpark.

PITTARO:
A lot of pop.

If he's good,

why doesn't he hit good?

KEOUGH:
He is a good hitter.

POTE:
He'll be ready.

He's gonna be a good hitter

against big-league arms?

KEOUGH:
Could be great.

I don't think so.

Kid needs at bats.

Give him 400 at bats,

he's gonna get better.

He can play.

GRADY:

He's hit everywhere

along the line.

BARRY:

He's one of our guys.

GRADY:

Okay, let's move on.

Artie, who do you like?

I like Perez. He's got a classic swing.

It's a real clean stroke.

I don't know. Can't hit the curveball.

There's some work to be done,

I'll admit that, but he's noticeable.

Got an ugly girlfriend.

BARRY:
What's that mean?

KEOUGH:
Ugly girlfriend

means no confidence.

PITTARO:

You are full of it. Artie is right.

This guy's got an attitude.

An attitude is good.

He walks in a room,

his dick's already been

there for two minutes.

He passes the eye-candy test.

Got the looks.

He's ready to play the part.

He just needs playing time.

KEOUGH:
I'm just saying,

his girlfriend is a six at best.

BARRY:

Look, if we're trying to replace

Giambi, this guy could be it.

PITTARO:
I agree with you.

La-la-la-la-la.

Damn, Billy,

was that a suggestion?

Guys, you're just talking.

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