Posted 5:27 PM by Floyd

Sportswriter Bruce Jenkins defends phrenology in today's San Francisco Chronicle:

. . . Not that Beane and his associates adhere strictly to the notion, but "Moneyball" suggests that quality players can be identified without actually seeing them play, or listening to them talk. That's a very dangerous road. Everyone raved about Todd Van Poppel's 95-mph fastball when the A's signed him out of high school, and he turned out to be a naive, clueless sort who threw it straight as a string -- for life. When Cuban pitcher Ariel Prieto first showed up in the A's clubhouse, we couldn't believe how soft he looked: up close (with braces, no less) and on the mound, with his ordinary motion and non-intimidating stuff. The good face, the good feel, the apparent strength of character -- those things still count, big-time. Look before you buy.

Jenkins isn't very clear on how a "good face" would have helped Poppel put his 95 MPH fastball to good use, or what the straightness of Prieto's teeth had to do with his pitching ability. Had Jenkins better reading comprehension, he would have learned from Moneyball that Beane has no use at all for the speed at which a pitcher throws, and the first thing the A's do when examining prospects is to weed out the assholes and the head cases.

Those who wonder how the Oakland A's can compete, and win, on such a small payroll need look no further than this nugget of conventional baseball wisdom. The only wonder is that some fair-minded and merciful authority has not handicapped them further.