Shortchanged by 'Moneyball'
DETROIT -- You could see clearly that Ken Macha and Billy Beane were not going to coexist indefinitely, whether the Oakland A's were World Series champions or not. There was a clash of philosophies -- the traditional manager vs. the general manager and his pioneering "Moneyball" theory.
Why the marriage of two relative opposites was ever consummated was a surprise, and why it was reaffirmed with a contract extension last winter was equally baffling.
Yet, it worked.
It worked as well as it's ever worked in the Beane era because of, in great part, Macha's willingness to buy into it and his in-game managing.
Speaking for the first time since he was fired after the A's were swept by the Tigers in the American League Championship Series, Macha elected to take the high road on many issues, yet strongly defended the bottom line, that under his management, the A's were one of the league's top teams despite limited resources and a limited roster.
Macha, in fact, not only survived but thrived in what Beane called a "disconnect."
Disconnect? Macha is blunt and my experience with him is that he tells his players what's expected of them, and he doesn't coddle them. He took three players with troubled pasts -- Jay Payton (who clashed with Terry Francona), Frank Thomas (considered a bad clubhouse influence with the White Sox at the end), and Milton Bradley (incidents everywhere he's played) -- and guided them to productive seasons. He got them playing together. The team thrived.
The volatile Bradley had been suspended a few times during his pro career, but Macha's approach was to allow the outfielder to vent and curtailed the number of blowups. No suspensions. In September, Bradley walked into Macha's office and thanked him for stepping in the way of an umpire with whom he was arguing, likely preventing an ugly scene. Payton said he had talks with Macha about playing the game right.
Sources around Major League Baseball during the ALCS said Macha wanted Dan Haren to pitch Games 3 and 7, but was overruled and comebacking Rich Harden (who missed more than three months with a sprained elbow ligament) was given the ball for Game 3 and Haren pushed back to Game 4. Macha also refused to sit Mark Kotsay in favor of Bobby Kielty.
"I don't know how he put up with it for that long," said one source. "Everybody has to answer to their general manager and you want feedback and suggestions from the organization. The best organizations are the ones who do things together and are on the same page. But in the end, it's the manager's decision who to play, when to play them."
And so Macha learned of his fate Oct. 16, two days after the A's were swept from the playoffs. Macha said his goodbyes, walked into the front office, and said, "Thanks for the opportunity. I've had four great years. Not many people get to manage in the playoffs. It was quite a thrill and an honor."
Macha, feeling far less worn out, said, "I know why I got fired. Everybody gets fired. People have a shelf life as a manager. That's their decision. I'm OK with it. I just want to be judged on the four years I served as manager.
"How do you judge a manager? Was the team prepared to play? Did we win? Listen, 25 guys aren't going to love you, but did they play hard every day and go out and produce to the best of their ability? Really, that's the way you should be judged."
You could understand Grady Little's dismissal after winning 95 games and being eliminated by the Yankees in the infamous Pedro Martínez decision in 2003. But when you have a $62 million payroll, win the AL West, sweep the favored Twins to make to the ALCS, and then get fired? It has been the most shocking move of the offseason thus far.
Stories trickled out in the San Francisco Chronicle that Macha was uncommunicative with some of his players, including a backup catcher. Charges were he didn't have much patience with injured players, often excluding them, and that his job might be in trouble.
After Macha was fired, and surely before, some A's players did the old Pete Carroll sidestep, up the back stairs to management.
Macha, who went 93-69 and had a four-year record of 368-280 with two first-place and two second-place finishes, will not speak ill of Beane, or speak about him at all. Macha wanted to walk away with the dignity and class he always portrayed. The whole league knows that he did a very good managing job.
He's been asked, even by his son, "Did you learn any lessons from this?" Macha, who turned 56 last month, has answered that he did things the right way, a way that produced success.
Macha was noticed as a managerial prospect during his four years in the Red Sox organization, managing in Trenton and Pawtucket. He always knew what he was getting into as manager in Oakland. As a bench coach for four years on Art Howe's staff, he'd watched what happened to his predecessor, who was criticized strongly in "Moneyball."
Last winter, Macha was out of work when his contract was not renewed. He even received a letter from A's management thanking him for his work and wishing him the best of luck. Then Beane had a change of heart and signed Macha to a three-year extension.
Macha seemed relieved when he spoke yesterday, though certainly feeling assailed by the charges leveled against him. He didn't communicate with a backup catcher? How awful.
He said he is going to spend time watching his daughter play her senior softball season at Penn State-Behrend. Macha, who has two years remaining on his deal and is owed more than $2 million, was going to catch up with old friends and wait for the next journey.
Although he hasn't heard from any team looking for a manager (Texas, San Francisco, and Washington), he may sit out next year and see where baseball takes him.
"I've spent a lot of time on the West Coast away from my family," Macha said. "Maybe there's more to life than that. Baseball is in my blood and has been in my blood for a long time. As far as next year, if I don't do anything, that's OK. When you do this job you have to decide who you please when you do this job. Who do you please?"
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. 
