Using the old Beane again

He was killing time at the airport waiting for his usual flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where he spends weekends with his family. This is one major reason why Billy Beane decided not to accept a lucrative offer to be Boston's general manager in November of 2002. The proximity of the Bay area to Los Angeles allows him time for the family life he cherishes.

And things have worked out well for him. Beane's Oakland A's keep finding a way to stay atop in the AL West, sometimes defying logic, often flying under the radar. In some ways, the current team might represent Beane's best work.

Entering last night's game, the A's had played 41 one-run games, second-most in the majors to Pittsburgh's 42. They had won 16 of the last 19 one-run decisions after losing 14 of the first 22. Their 24 one-run victories were second in the majors (the Mets had 26).

They have beaten Seattle 15 straight times, tying the longest winning streak against a division opponent in one season. (In 1974, Atlanta won 15 over San Diego when both were in the NL West.)

``I can't figure it out," A's pitcher Kirk Saarloos said. ``I really don't want to."

There are other things Saarloos probably can't explain.

How do you explain losing your best pitcher (Rich Harden) for most of the season and still managing to have one of the best young staffs in baseball? How do you explain three high-risk guys -- Milton Bradley, Jay Payton, and Frank Thomas -- fitting in so well and being so productive?

How on Earth does Beane keep replenishing every year? Lose Tim Hudson. Lose Mark Mulder. And still win. It has to be more than the concept Beane made famous in ``Moneyball."

``I've been saying this for years, and some people might not agree with it, but for me, good team chemistry is about winning," said Beane. ``The result of winning is good team chemistry."

That is similar to the philosophy espoused by former Sox GM Dan Duquette, but his teams had questionable personalities and didn't win enough. Things got ugly. Beane has never had to deal with that side of it. All he knows is that you scrape the bottom of the barrel in free agency, take some chances, and hope the players you've scouted and developed become star major leaguers.

Thomas was a great player in his heyday, but that heyday seemed a long time ago. He also was considered a problem in the clubhouse by some in the White Sox organization. He also had a foot injury that wouldn't heal.

``That was no genius on my part," Beane said. ``That was all Frank. We looked at the medical records and saw that he was healing, and Frank convinced us he was going to keep healing and get better. I have to admit, that was a time when I probably went more with my gut than what I had in front of me in terms of medical and scouting reports. But Frank sold me."

He knew he had a very talented player in Bradley, once considered a five-tool specimen but one with a long rap sheet of indiscretions. He had Payton, a guy who did his best Corporal Klinger act to get out of Boston. He folded them in with the Nick Swishers and Jason Kendalls and Bobby Crosbys and Mark Kotsays and Eric Chavezes, and before he knew it, he had a fairly productive lineup to go along with defense and pitching.

``We're fortunate in the market we're in that we don't encounter that outside noise that other organizations must deal with," said Beane. ``We don't have to deal with as much of the emotional reactions of the way things are going from the outside. We understand the ups and downs of a season and we don't react based on emotion."

Would he have made similar decisions had he taken the Sox job?

``I would always have stuck to my philosophy of how to run an organization; that wouldn't have changed," Beane said. ``But certainly there would have been a larger pool of players available that would have fit in with that philosophy.

``Anyway, that organization is in great hands with Theo [Epstein]. By the time we enter free agency, there isn't a very large pool of players to choose from, so we have to be smart in who we choose."

And therein lies one of the reasons the A's haven't been able to get over the hump and go deep into the playoffs. The Yankees can add Bobby Abreu. The Sox can pay an Eric Hinske. Usually, Beane has to go with the team he built in February.

Could this be the year the A's make a World Series appearance?

``I would love it," Beane said. ``One thing I'll say about our team and the type of people we have in that clubhouse is they know what time of year it is. They're aware it's time to pick it up, that we have to play our best baseball right now."

And that has nothing to do with Moneyball. That's just baseball.

Not ready for prime time

Bronson Arroyo broke his 10-game drought with a 7-2 win over the Cardinals last Tuesday night to improve to 10-8 with a 3.45 ERA. Arroyo went 14-10 with the Red Sox last season, getting his 10th win Aug. 10, in his 23d start, some six days before he got his 10th win with the Reds this year, in his 26th start.

In a strange season, he became the first pitcher in major league history to win nine of his first 15 starts and then go winless in his next 10.

Arroyo's competition in the National League so far has been far inferior compared with his last season in the AL. The opposing starting pitchers he's faced currently have a 114-138 (.452) combined record; last year, his opponents were a combined 263-249 (.514).

Three of his 10 wins are against the Cubs' Glendon Rusch, who is 3-8 with a 7.44 ERA and on the disabled list. But of all the starters he's beaten, only Mark Mulder, currently on the DL, has a winning record (6-5, 6.09).

Arroyo also has wins against Ramon Ortiz (9-10, 4.88), David Busch (8-9, 4.69), Andy Pettitte (11-13, 4.65, Orlando Hernandez (8-9, 5.54), Ben Sheets (3-5, 5.54), and Anthony Reyes (4-6, 4.73). Five of his eight losses have come against pitchers with winning records, including two to Milwaukee's Doug Davis (9-6, 4.97).

Arroyo's wins last year in starts: Dave Bush (5-11, 4.49), Hideo Nomo (5-8, 7.24), Pedro Astacio (6-10, 4.49), Jason Johnson (8-13, 4.54), Aaron Harang (11-13, 3.83), Kevin Millwood (9-11, 2.86), Sidney Ponson (7-11, 6.21), Casey Fossum (8-12, 4.92), Carlos Silva (9-8, 3.44), Kenny Rogers (14-8, 3.46), Doug Waechter (5-12, 5.62), Ervin Santana (12-8, 4.65), Dan Haren (14-12, 3.73), and Daniel Cabrera (10-13, 4.52).

He lost twice to Ted Lilly (10-11, 5.56) and once to Rodrigo Lopez (15-12, 4.90), Greg Maddux (13-15, 4.24), Millwood (9-11, 2.86), Roy Halladay (12-4, 2.41), Jose Contreras (15-7, 3.61), Brad Radke (9-12, 4.04), and Santana (12-8, 4.65).

The good thing is his rubber arm: He's second in the majors in pitches thrown (2,859) and second in innings pitched (177 1/3). And he's a bulldog.

The moral of this story: As well as Arroyo has done, it might be too much to ask him to match up against a No. 1 or No. 2 starter in the postseason. But that's exactly what the Reds would ask him to do.

Snyder's perspective comes straight from the heart

Though he has had four surgeries that all but sabotaged his career, Red Sox righthander Kyle Snyder can keep things in perspective, thanks to his upbringing. His father was a heart surgeon in Sarasota, Fla., who dealt with life and death every day.

``Years later, I understand now on those days when Dad was down what he was going through," said Snyder, who is scheduled to start Tuesday in Anaheim. ``When I'd have a bad day or I lost, or even undergoing one of the four surgeries, it was so irrelevant to the life and death my father dealt with every day.

``Thinking back on it, I just admire him so much. He's dedicated his life to saving lives, and the times he didn't, it was amazing to me how he could deal with that day in and day out, and the fact he still does."

Donald Snyder played basketball at Rice University in Houston while attending medical school. He learned his craft as a resident at Baylor Medical Center, where he studied under Dr. Michael DeBakey, a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular surgery.

``I know that Dad still speaks to Dr. DeBakey," said Snyder. ``They stay in touch. He was a great mentor for my father."

The younger Snyder, who attended the University of North Carolina, took a few anatomy courses because he wanted to know more about his body. He took a special interest in his surgeries.

``I knew what was going on," he said. ``I asked questions -- a lot of questions."

Snyder isn't the only Red Sox player who is the son of a surgeon. Trot Nixon's father is a liver specialist in North Carolina.

Etc.

When we asked agent Randy Hendricks to discuss the possibility of Roger Clemens returning to baseball for one more season, he said, ``I don't think I'd even bring up the subject with Roger right now." But this season has shown that Clemens is nowhere near being done. A source close to Clemens said last week, ``Why wouldn't he just do what he did this year? Start pitching around July, but this time make the right choice and pick the Red Sox." Clemens does love the comforts of home, but what if he had to do it over again? ``He would never say it," said the source. ``But he would have chosen Boston, and if [Astros owner] Drayton McLane had done the right thing and traded him to Boston, the Red Sox would be taking the AL East."

Which has been the most active organization in signing Dominican players this summer? As of Aug. 1, the Rangers had signed 15 free agents in the Dominican Republic to deals that included signing bonuses of at least $40,000. That is the highest total in the majors, ahead of the Mariners (13), Yankees (10), Red Sox and Tigers (9), and Mets (8).

Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell is miserable over his playing time, but he has only himself to blame. He exercised a no-trade clause when the Phillies were set to deal him to Baltimore for Rodrigo Lopez. After Bobby Abreu was dealt to the Yankees, Dave Dellucci and Shane Victorino started getting more playing time, at the expense of Burrell (who had started only 22 of 32 games as of late last week). The Phillies are on the hook for two more seasons and $27 million. Good luck finding a buyer, though if anyone can, it might be Pat Gillick.

The Giants had internal meetings last week to determine what course of action to take before Aug. 31. There was some sentiment to bail out and sell off older players such as Steve Finley, Moises Alou, Ray Durham, or even Shea Hillenbrand. But then the Giants swept four games from the Padres. They also have an enormous offseason decision on Barry Bonds, who has been a cash cow for them at the turnstiles. Another big decision is the fate of manager Felipe Alou, who might be ready to go off into the sunset. ``There's going to be a lot of action around the Giants this winter," said an NL executive. ``They'll look for another drawing card, a big bat in the middle of the order, and rebuild like that. I'm not sure what the fan pressure is for Bonds to break the record there, but from a baseball perspective, he's not a guy you'd bring back, not only because of the distraction but because he's a DH."

Even after Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi dealt Scott Schoenweis to the Reds and Eric Hinske to the Red Sox in salary dumps, he was talking about catching Boston in the standings. ``We're only five games back and we've been playing a lot better lately," Ricciardi said. ``This is by no means a sign to our team that the season is over. We're still after it. We've moved players we don't feel are essential to us right now. There's no question we've made progress. I didn't know whether we'd be able to make up all of the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox in one offseason, but we're close."

Yes, that was Cla Meredith of Boston cameo fame who has a run of 18 scoreless innings for the Padres. It is the fourth-best scoreless streak in team history for a reliever. The team record is 19 2/3 innings by Jose Melendez in 1991.

Former Royals general manager Allard Baird, now a special assignment scout with Boston, is already scouting prospective free agents for next season. Anything lefthanded might be a target, from Barry Zito to Ted Lilly, or even a reliever like the Yankees' Ron Villone. The Sox also might pursue old targets such as Dontrelle Willis and Roy Oswalt, who weren't dealt at the deadline but could go for a jackpot of younger prospects in the offseason. Baird has watched while the Royals have begun to commit to things they didn't commit to when he was with them -- such as more scouting resources for new GM Dayton Moore, and the outlay of more than $5 million to No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar.

Padres pitcher Jake Peavy finally got a new shipment of contact lenses last week. It's a big thing for the 26-year-old righthander, who is legally blind without corrective lenses. ``I thought we were going to have to go to smoke signals," said catcher Rob Bowen, who had trouble getting the signs to Peavy last Saturday in Houston. ``Jake's eyesight is not the best. But we had real problems in Houston. My guess it was a combination of Jake's eyes, the lighting, and the uniforms we were wearing. I was putting signals everywhere, but Jake was having trouble picking them up." When the new shipment came in, Peavy said, ``This is better than getting a new shipment of bats." Peavy said the difference with the new lenses was striking. ``My biggest fear has always been something happening in the middle of the night when I couldn't find my glasses or my contacts," he said. ``I'm really blind, but I'm correctable to 20-20 with the right prescription." Peavy thinks the real boost will come in his hitting. He is batting .205 with 2 homers and 8 RBIs.

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.