Billy Beane told me a story this morning in his office. He used to have trouble sitting through A's games - he would get so nervous and he'd try to find ways to divert himself. It was the fifth game of the American League Division Series in New York and Beane got an interesting idea. Here's his narration:

"We had Game 5 in '01. Mulder was pitching in Yankee Stadium. He started the game, and I remember thinking, 'I'm not going to sit here and watch this game.' So I went out and got on the subway. I figured I'd just ride the subway for a couple of hours. But I went to one point and came back because I wasn't so familiar with the subway. I took the 4 Train going into Manhattan. I thought, 'I better not get too creative on my time killing here.' I ran the risk of actually getting lost. So I said, 'All right. This isn't going to work.' So I went back to the park. I got back in the middle of it and we were up 2-0 and I said, 'Oh, I've got to watch this whole thing.' We ended up losing that game."

Maybe he should have stayed in the subway.