マネーボール: Interview with Billy Beane
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/008288.php
http://www.athleticsnation.com/
2004年9月のインタビュー(3回シリーズ)
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2004/9/20/23714/6909
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2004/9/20/23544/2604
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2004/9/20/23215/4414
2005年1月のインタビュー(3回シリーズ)
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/1/18/221430/506
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/1/23/233751/919
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/1/25/233348/110
- 今オフのトレードで実績のない若手先発投手を獲得したことについて
The first thing we did when we knew the possibility was there that we were going to move these guys, we had to find teams that had pitchers that were very close to stepping into the rotation, very similar to our own Joe Blanton. The biggest reason for that would be that we had cost control over them for their first three years when they'll be making $300,000. A. Because it was something that we could afford, and B. because we'd want to have them as long as possible. That was the reason that we dealt specifically with the teams that we did.
I've seen the value of a great bullpen. One thing about acquiring bullpen guys is that you can work from the end of the game back as opposed to the starters working from the front and going towards the ninth. So the cost of working from the ninth down is a little cheaper and with our young pitchers, it will give us an opportunity to win. And if you notice the relievers we've brought in, they're more than one inning-type of relievers. (略)
Yeah, like Cruz and Calero and even if Yabu goes in there. So what we're trying to do is possibly shorten the game down to take as much pressure off those young starters. Because the one thing you know about those guys in their career thus far is that they A. Throw strikes, which is great for a young pitcher and B. They strike guys out. We're going to emphasize to them early in camp, just give us strikes and get us as deep as you can, but don't feel like you've got to go seven or eight innings. That's until they've got their sea legs underneath them. Hopefully we can protect them as much as possible with the bullpen.
- 藪の役割は、理想的には若手先発投手が揃ったときのロングリリーフ可能なブルペン投手。若手が伸び悩んだ場合の先発バックアップ。
Blez: You mentioned Yabu. Do you have him in mind as a bullpen guy or are you going to look at how things shake out in spring training and figure it out from there?
BB: A little bit of both. He's an option to break as a starter, but I think if everything went according to our perfect plan, he'd give us length in the bullpen and we'd break with three rookie pitchers.
- rebuildは良いマネジメントにあらず。
First of all, I'm not sure it's good management as a GM to rebuild, rebuild probably isn't the right word, but to start to make changes only after you've hit rock bottom. Because it takes five, six, seven years to get out of that in a small market. Those same people that criticize those preemptive moves are the same ones who spend the next three years wondering why you didn't do anything. We were kind of going through a restructuring here last year with the number of rookies we brought onto the team any way. I'm not sure that any of our fans want me to stand up at the podium and say, "Hey, we're getting rid of everybody. We're going to lose 100 games over the next three years, now come and enjoy the show." What we're trying to do is make sure that any dip in performance doesn't happen for five or six years and I've seen professional sports franchises do that.
- 柔軟性を重要視するゆえ、大型複数年契約には慎重。
Probably evaluate down the road, but the one thing we have done is we've created flexibility going forward. I've always said this, I've said this 4-5 years ago before Jason (Giambi) was gone, that there was no one in sports who could keep this entire team together, it didn't matter who you were. It was always going to be about choice.
- LAのGMとなったかつての部下Paul DePodestaについて。
My best move? Hiring Paul DePodesta. I mean that. I lost J.P. (Ricciardi) in sort of the middle of this run and he was incredibly valuable. The brainpower Paul brought was amazing. I'd like to think that I taught Paul a few things and he taught me a few things. He's taken heat down there. You know, we're allowed to be creative up here, apparently, he isn't allowed to be creative down there.
- Beaneの思想の骨格: コストの安い若手が活躍しているチーム
But let's look at it from a different perspective. OK, let's just look at next year's team and put Barton aside for a minute, who may end up being the best of all the guys we've traded for. Let's take Dan Haren and Kiko Calero. It's not just Haren and Colero because their combined salaries are $600 grand. Give or take. $600 grand for those two vital roles. Right? Let's say the player you traded is going to make 7 million bucks. It's not just Haren and Calero, but it's Haren and Calero and whatever else you did with that 7 million bucks. One of the reasons that this team was so successful during its run was that we had young players that were contributing at the major league level that were very cost-effective which allows you to add other things. When you have a guy like Chavez and Tejada playing short and third making $300,000, it allows you to bring in a Kevin Appier. It allows you to bring in a player of that status and of that salary to augment it. When you have guys surrounding the diamond that are making 5, 6 or 7 million dollars in our market, that gets chewed up pretty quick. The remainder of your roster gets filled in with guys who probably shouldn't be there. The most valuable resource in this game is 0-3 (years of service) players who are good players on your major league team. Those are the most valuable guys you can have because that allows you to do so much more because they fill out a critical role.
- ただそういう若手ばかりでラインナップを構成することは無理な望み。そうなるとたいていはrebuildになってしまう。
That's really the basis for all our success. You know when Bobby Crosby comes in and hits 20 bombs as a rookie shortstop making $300,000, that's incredibly valuable. What you don't want to do is have eight of those guys who are cutting their teeth all at the same time. At that point, you truly do have a rebuilding situation. Those are only kind of fun.
- Bobby Crosbyについて。若い才能がスター選手になるプロセスについて。
Even if Bobby improves just a little, you've got a heck of a player on your hands. I think the first two years of a major league player's career are going to be similar to what you saw Bobby's rookie year. You're going to see some up and down and up and down. And then what you're going to start to see in Bobby around the end of his second year is some real consistency. And then you can say, "Hey, this guy's going to be a star." The thing you've got to be careful with young players is the moment you think that they've finally got it, you have to know that they're going to go through more tough times. I think what you're going to see in Bobby is a better player, but one who is still cutting his teeth and going through some of the growing pains a young player does. But the one thing I think you're going to see this season is that he's really going to grasp what is going on and by the end of the year you're going to say, "Wow this guy is really going to be something special." You're still going to see some ups and downs because he is still incredibly young. We saw it with Miguel, we saw it with a guy like Chavez. We even went through that with guys like Giambi. But once they get it, they don't lose it. At some point during the season, you're going to see that with Bobby. Bobby is just scratching the surface. There are a few players who've come through our system and they're just different. When Chavez came in and was hitting batting practice balls down and away for line drives over the left field wall, the other players would go, wow, this guy is special. Bobby will do things like that and we've all seen him hit balls as far as any power hitter we've ever had here. Guys will go, this guy is going to be special. Bobby is one of those guys who almost cares too much. He's so critical of himself. Being a perfectionist is one of the things that can be tough on a young player. Bobby is that. Bobby doesn't ever want to make a mistake. He takes every mistake personally. He takes every at bat personally. When he learns not to do that, he's going to be even better. It's a sign of his character because he cares that much, but it can also slow him down because he cares so much. Bobby is one of those guys who, as a rookie, if he had a tough game I won't go near him.
