One difference between Baseball and Football is that Billy Beane can become a target for disdain while Bill Belichick can become the benchmark for a well run franchise. The Patriots are praised for trading Bledsoe, cutting Malloy and being tough with Law. And the A’s are derided for letting Giambi and Tejada go. You can’t compare 0 for 9 in playoff elimination games and being 2 for 2 in Super Bowls. But you can compare the approach towards building a cost-effective team.

Of course, the NFL has a cap and the cap is king. While the Yankees have a $180M payroll and still rake it in. But I just don’t understand why baseball people expect the A’s to spend like the big market teams while earning money like a small market team.