Moneyball Page #2

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Talking, "la-la-la-la-la,"

like this is business

as usual.

It's not.

We're trying to solve

the problem.

Not like this.

You're not looking at the problem.

GRADY:
We're very aware

of the problem. I mean--

Okay, good. What's the problem?

Look, Billy, we all understand

what the problem is. We have to--

BILLY:
Okay, good.

What's the problem?

We have to replace three

key players in our lineup.

BILLY:

Nope. What's the problem?

PITTARO:

We gotta replace these guys

with what we have--

BILLY:

No. What's the problem, Barry?

We need 38 home runs, 120 RBIs

and 47 doubles to replace.

[IMITATES BUZZER]

The problem we're trying to solve

is that there are rich teams

and there are poor teams,

then there's 50 feet of crap,

and then there's us.

It's an unfair game.

And now we've been gutted.

We're like organ donors for the rich.

Boston's taken our kidneys,

Yankees have taken our heart.

And you guys sit around

talking the same old "good body"

nonsense like we're selling jeans.

Like we're looking for Fabio.

We got to think differently.

We are the last dog

at the bowl.

You see what happens to

the runt of the litter? He dies.

Billy, that's a very touching story

and everything,

but I think we're all very much

aware of what we're facing.

You have a lot of experience

and wisdom in this room.

You need to have

a little faith and let us do

the job of replacing Giambi.

Is there another first

baseman like Giambi?

ARTIE:
No, not really.

POTE:
No.

If there was, could we afford him?

POTE:
Nope.

Then what the f***

are you talking about, man?

If we try to play like the Yankees

in here,

we will lose to the Yankees

out there.

Boy, that sounds like

fortune-cookie wisdom to me, Billy.

No, that's just logic.

Who's Fabio?

He's a shortstop.

He's a shortstop from Seattle.

GRADY:

Now, this is no time

to push the panic button.

Our scouts will find players,

Player Development

will develop them.

We'll teach them to play

Oakland A baseball.

With all due respect,

we've been doing this

a long time.

Why don't you just

let us be responsible

for replacing Giambi

with who we know

that can play?

[BAT CRACKS]

[]

MARTINEZ:
Easy power.

SABATINI:
And loose.

SABATINI:

Good face.

This son of a b*tch

is going in the first round.

You're a premium player, Billy.

You can run, you can field,

you can throw, you can hit,

you can hit with power.

That doesn't come along very often.

SABATINI:

This is Tom Martinez,

national cross-checker.

MARTINEZ:
How you doing?

BILLY:
Billy Beane.

Nice to meet you.

It's been a while since

I've seen a five-tool guy

that can do everything.

I'm hopeful your interest

in professional baseball

is as strong as ours is gonna be

in getting you in this upcoming draft.

[FOOTSTEPS]

WOMAN:

Mr. Beane?

Mark is ready

to see you now.

BILLY:
How you doing?

WOMAN:
I'm fine.

How are you?

BILLY:
Good.

[DOOR OPENS]

Hey, Billy.

Hey, Mark.

Good to see you. Please sit down.

You too.

These are the guys. Guys, Billy.

Boys.

How's it going?

All right. How you been?

You're filling out that chair nicely.

I got three weeks in it right now.

Good, good, man.

Yeah, man. How you doing?

Fantastic.

Awesome.

Couldn't be better.

That's good to hear.

I'm not gonna waste your time.

You just tell me

what you're looking for.

Fifty million dollars

in additional payroll.

You should try Giambi.

Ouch.

I'm sorry. Too soon, right?

I want this to be

a friendly meeting.

It's not all

on your shoulders.

Where's Steve in this?

BILLY:
Steve's great.

He's supportive

in rebuilding this team.

That's what we're gonna do.

So, what are you looking for?

A left-handed reliever.

I'm thinking Ricardo Rincon.

That's not gonna happen.

Not even a discussion?

Billy, even if you could afford him,

respectfully, we love him.

We're not about to let him go.

You got this Venezuelan kid

coming up.

We had him.

We moved him to Detroit.

Huh.

What else you thinking?

Outfielders.

To replace Damon?

Yeah.

In your price range? No disrespect.

Enough, Mark.

Uh... Hollins?

BILLY:

Uh-uh.

Garcia?

No.

Maybe Coste.

Uh-uh.

That's it.

All right, tell me about Garcia.

To replace Johnny Damon?

Mark, is he healthy?

Yeah, he's healthy-ish.

He had that back thing.

He'll be ready for spring ball.

BILLY:
I'll tell you what.

I can give you Guthrie

if you kick in some cash.

Mark Guthrie?

Yeah.

How much cash?

Two hundred K.

[WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY]

MARK:

Okay.

So Garcia's gonna be a no.

You're kidding me, right?

You're kidding me.

I'm not.

Okay. Straight up,

Garcia for Guthrie, no kicker.

No kicker?

BILLY:
Straight up.

I think it's gonna be

a hard no on Garcia,

but let's just keep going.

What else you thinking?

What are we doing? Is this business?

This is the way we do

business in Cleveland.

Hey.

Hello.

Who are you?

I'm Peter Brand.

What do you do?

I'm special assistant

to Mark Shapiro.

So, what do you do?

Mostly player analysis

right now.

Been on the job long?

First job in baseball?

It's my first job anywhere.

Wow, congrats.

Thank you.

First job.

Whose nephew are you?

Why does Mark listen to you?

I don't think, uh...

I don't think he does very often.

He just did.

Well, in that circumstance,

I think he was more listening

to Bruce than myself.

Mm-hm. Who are you?

I'm Peter Brand.

I don't give a rat's ass

what your name is.

What happened

in there?

What happened

in that room?

I'm not quite sure what

you're asking me, Mr. Beane.

What did you

tell Bruce?

I just told Bruce I like Garcia.

You like Garcia. Why?

Why?

I don't know. Ahem.

There is an epidemic failure

within the game

to understand

what is really happening.

And this leads people who run

Major League Baseball teams

to misjudge their players

and mismanage their teams.

I apologize.

Go on.

Okay. People who run ball clubs,

they think in terms of buying players.

Your goal shouldn't be

to buy players. Your goal

should be to buy wins.

And in order to buy wins,

you need to buy runs.

You're trying

to replace Johnny Damon.

The Red Sox see Johnny Damon

and they see a star

who's worth $7.5 million a year.

When I see Johnny Damon,

what I see is...

an imperfect understanding

of where runs come from.

The guy's got a great glove.

He's a decent leadoff hitter.

He can steal bases.

But is he worth

the $7.5 million a year

that the Boston Red Sox

are paying him?

No. No.

Baseball thinking is medieval.

They are asking

all the wrong questions.

And if I say it to anybody,

I'm ostracized. I'm a leper.

So that's why I'm cagey

about this with you.

That's why--

I respect you, Mr. Beane,

and if you want full disclosure,

I think it's a good thing

that you got Damon off

your payroll.

I think it opens up all kinds

of interesting possibilities.

Where you from, Pete?

Maryland.

Where'd you go to school?

Yale. I went to Yale.

What'd you study?

Economics.

I studied economics.

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