Billy Beane, general manager of Oakland Athletics, speaks du [Getty Images]

JAPAN - MARCH 21: Billy Beane, general manager of Oakland Athletics, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, March 21, 2008. The Red Sox and Athletics departed last night for their season-opening trips to Japan, hours after Boston avoided a threatened boycott and resolved a dispute with Major League Baseball about paying coaches and other staff members. (Photo by Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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