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Yes, another soccer post. For those of you wondering ... I feel fine today, but I may have caught the MLS bug. Especially when I learn the of A's General Manager Billy Beane becoming an integral part in the new San Jose Earthquakes. Beane's foot in the game may not be on par with David Beckham, but his influence shouldn't be underestimated.
Can "Moneyball" translate to soccer?
Beane isn't running out on the A's. But he loves soccer, and his boss bought the San Jose Earthquakes last week. When the Earthquakes kick off next year, Beane could use Major League Soccer as a laboratory, testing whatever theories of soccer analysis he might conjure up.Now you've officially garnered my attention, MLS. I'm on the same page of the guys at Lion in Oil; this could definitely work well.
"Billy is going to be deeply involved in soccer for us," said Lew Wolff, managing partner of the A's and now the Earthquakes.
"We're actually looking at some of Billy's concepts on how to evaluate players. We're trying to find out how we can apply some of Billy's thinking."
Beane has been so successful being the thrifty guy in an ecosystem full of big-spenders. Despite having an extremely low payroll, they haven't had a losing season since 1998, making the playoffs a number of times (it should be noted that the A's are on pace for a losing campaign this season). And the MLS is a totally different game, with a vastly different economic system than that which Beane is used to being constricted by.Do you think Beane can bend his baseball theories into soccer?
Beane's systems and metrics have allowed him to find the best bargains with great success. But imagine what he could do in the MLS, where every player is a bargain. Considering that only six MLS players have annual salaries above the major league minimum of $380,000, Beane probably looks at this as a level playing field, or more likely one that he can exploit.
Major League Soccer is on a roll. It's got David Beckham and a place on the world radar. With the likes of Billy Beane interested now, it couldn't ask for a better situation. And don't be surprised to see the San Jose Earthquakes in the playoffs come 2009.
Source: (Lion in Oil) (LA Times)
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