Film based on book about Beane's use of stats to shape Oakland
A's stirs debate anew  Sep 22 2011 - 6:51pm  LOS ANGELES -- The
champagne flowed easily, and so did the toasts. The San
Francisco Giants had just won the World Series, and the shouts
came from all corners of the clubhouse.  To Willie Mays! To Tim
Lincecum! To Aubrey Huff's rally thong!  And this, from around a
corner, from Giants executive Tony Siegle: "So much for
'Moneyball."'  The book that polarized an industry hits the big
screen on Friday, with Brad Pitt starring as Billy Beane, the
maverick general manager of the Oakland Athletics.  The book was
published in 2003, as the Oakland Athletics made their fourth
consecutive playoff appearance. The movie comes out as the
Athletics hover uncomfortably close to last place in the
American League West, en route to their fifth consecutive season
without a winning record.  Those recent struggles are met with
barely concealed glee in some clubhouses and front offices, in
an industry that did not apprecia