Good Q&A with Paul DePodesta by RJ Anderson of Beyond the Boxscore and DRays Bay. In the interview PePodesta downplays a lot of the “Moneyball” stuff, indicating that many of the perceptions people have about the concept have more to do with Michael Lewis’ pen than some mad scientist (Beane). I think people tend to forget that aspect of the book.

I used to have interactions with Lewis’ wife (I wrote for her) who was (is?)  a popular rock journalist for Rolling Stone and other publications. There’s a lot more of that style in Moneyball than people in the sports world seem to realize, which is why Beane comes off as kind of a Rawk Gawd in the book.

Consequently a lot of the interview is PePodesta downplaying “Moneyball” ideas.

QUESTION: One of the more talked about theories in Moneyball was how Beane liked having a manager who essentially had no real control outside of in-game strategy - I don’t see Bud Black as fitting that mold - so I ask do you like that idea or did the Padres look for a more pro-active manager after Bochy left?

DEPODESTA: That’s really a misperception. Billy always involved the staff in our player personnel decisions. Billy held the final say, as all General Managers should, just as the Manager should hold the final say when it comes to any and all on-field decisions. In both cases, it works best when all the parties involved are able to value the opinions of everyone else, and we certainly have that here in San Diego.

But Anderson’s questions are good throughout; they get into some details about the Padres trade for Joe Thatcher, the Kevin Kouzmanoff deal, and the day-to-day operations of the Padres.