Amazin' Avenue, a New York Mets community

Brian Costa gets Paul DePodesta to expound on his reluctance to have his likeness included in the "Moneyball" movie. "I just could never get comfortable with the idea of somebody else portraying me to the rest of the world," DePodesta said. "It's very unnerving, and it was something that wasn't going to go away. That was always in my mind."

Keith Law reviews the Moneyball movie. Spoiler alert: He doesn't like it. But he does add this favorable observation: If you do end up seeing the film, and I imagine most of you will, there is one scene towards the end that stood out for me as incredibly spot on, so much so that it didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the film. Beane is sitting in what was then called the .406 club at Fenway Park with John Henry, who is about to offer him a record-breaking deal to become the Red Sox’ new GM. Henry expounds on how Beane’s method of doing things is going to sweep through the industry, and how critics within the game weren’t just trying to protect the game, but were expressing their own fears about their livelihoods. That speech applies just as well to any industry undergoing the kind of creative destruction ushered in by Bill James, Sandy Alderson and Billy Beane. Remember that when you see the next written attack on "stat geeks" who are ruining the game along with a defense of RBIs or pitcher wins.