I keep seeing this thought repeated over and over that Billy got taken to the bank by Atlanta.  At first glace it is easy to say YES he did.  However, it is my opinion that if we only take a second look at it we will see that Billy didn’t get fleeced. 

Bad News:

Dan Myers, Two Buck Chuck and Jose Cruz were all HUGE bust!! There is no way around it. 

Good News:

We all knew he knew Huddy was gone after the 2004 season.  It was anybodies guess where he would go, but it is always safe to assume NY or Boston heck even Anaheim err I mean Los Angeles Angles of something or other.  So rather than get beat by him once or twice a season Beane shipped him off to his home town team safely tucked away in the dirty south.  I even believe that Beane knew that the Braves playoff run would be over soon.

Side Note:

Billy was able to flip Cruz for Brad Halsey who did a capable job as a lefty out of the pen in 2006.  It is true that he did give up 715 to Bonds, but no one is perfect. 

By the way has anyone seen Halsey lately? Is he still alive???