A's give Billy Beane a 7-year extension

After leading the Oakland Athletics to four division titles since 2000, the A's have rewarded their very hard working general manager, Billy Beane with a seven-year contract extenstion announced just moments ago. The team's president, Michael Crowley also received a seven-year extension from A's owner and managing partner Lew Wolff, who lauded both men for their work with the club.

"Mike and Billy were my first free agent signings and both continue to demonstrate their talents as two of the finest executives in the sports industry today," Wolff said in a statement. "I am very pleased their relationship with the A's will continue during one of the most exciting and important times in our team's history."

The financial situation in Oakland, which saw them watch big name players like Barry Zito, Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, Tim Hudson(Yes!), Mark Mulder are among others, almost chased Beane out of Oakland back in 2003 when Boston offered him their general manager position. But Beane opted to stay in Oakland and was given a lucrative extension in 2005 when Wolff bought the team.

Beane's innovative approach that focuses on developing talent from the farm system and unique methods of scouting and player evaluation was the subject of the best-selling book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." Which I haven't read yet, but Davey has been raving about it for weeks.