ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF "MONEYBALL"
In Bill Simmons' a.k.a. The Sports Guy's latest article (click here) he discusses the philosophy of "Moneyball" and says something that I think is interesting...

It's like a talented softball team, Billy Beane's "Moneyball" vision sprung to life. Just keep getting guys on base and everything will be fine. Or so they say.

Of course, Beane's Oakland teams haven't won a playoff series yet. And that's the problem. I'm not sure you can win this way. Teams that ignore the Little Things -- turning crisp double plays, taking the extra base, cutting off balls in the outfield, getting bunts down in big spots, running the bases without looking like you're drunk -- never seem to succeed in October. Eventually, you reach a point where the other team is just as good as you, so you have to roll up your sleeves and beat them by playing some baseball.-Bill Simmons

This point is what a lot of people have been saying, especially with the struggles the A's have had in the playoffs the past few years. I know comments like Simmons' in this article are not popular, especially in the baseball blogosphere, but I think there is some truth to what he is saying. The fact is that the "little things" in baseball add up many times to the difference between a win and a loss. The A's hurt themselves by completely devaluing defense a few years back (in Moneyball I believe at one time Oakland's management felt that fielding was only 5% of what it takes to win). Offensively valuing OBP and SLG are important, but not everything to an entire team. You can't sell out defense for the benefit of a few points of OBP. The value of individual defensive ability has not been accurately quantified yet, and I don't think ever will. With that said, teams will have to rely on the subjective element of evaluation to determine when to side with defense and when to go for offense at a position. A .230/.310/.385 hitting SS might be a good play for one team, but not for another one.

There is no one way to win at baseball, which is what makes the game so great. You can build a team on offense, on speed (which isn't done anymore), and on pitching and defense. Even within the basic concepts of how to build a team there is a lot of diversity. It is all very interesting and is why we all keep reading about, talking about and writing about the game.