Moneyball

"It's hard not to be romantic about baseball." One of my favorite lines from the movie.

Alright, let us be honest. I went to see this movie because I really do love me some baseball. But then there is also Brad Pitt. So that may have played in a role in it.

But the truth is, I've never thought that Mr. Pitt was a great actor. Not that I think he's bad. He most certainly isn't bad. He's decent and sometimes really good. I love him in Ocean's 11 and in A River Runs Through It. In Moneyball? He was phenomenal.

Anyway, this is what I loved about the movie.

1. It's about baseball, and it really is hard not to be romantic about baseball. Anyone who has sat in a stadium...like Camden Yards for example...knows what I am talking about. People say baseball is slow. But I do not agree. There is a strategy and skill and patience in baseball. A grand slam, a perfectly pitched game, a fast dash and a long reach for that pop fly...oh these things are rare. But when they happen, they are beautiful. How I do love baseball. Slow nothing. It's all about anticipating that perfect hit or play.

2. This movie is about a group of underdogs, the boys who are not celebrities. They are the boys playing the game. And they go on this awesomely incredible winning streak. After taking it in the nose game after game, week after week, they win twenty in a row and set a record. This is real life baseball, people. Just like I said. It's that beautiful unexpected winning streak by the boys who are down and expected to fail that makes baseball what it is. How can you not love baseball? How can you not love a story about a group of guys who make everyone eat crow? Twenty wins? Are you kidding? Not even the Yankees were able to do that! Not even the freaking YANKEES!!!

3. Billy Beane. So being played by Brad Pitt didn't hurt him at all. But man, that Billy Beane. Now there is a guy with not only a love for baseball but a man willing to take a risk. I am risk averse by nature. And so I have admiration for someone who has the guts to do what he did. The guy looses some of the biggest players in baseball. He has no money to replace them. Players like that were not in his budget. And then he takes a risk on this guy who's a rookie in his own right. A guy who thought that the most important thing was getting on base. This twenty-something Yale grad. How can you not admire that kind of risk taking?

Anyway, it is one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time. It might be my favorite for the year...setting aside, of course HP because that's HP and all. It's a beautiful story...and yes, how can you not be romantic about baseball?