"With the Moneyball movie set to open next month, the world will once again be gaga over the power of smart analytics to drive success. While you are watching the movie, however, think about the fact that the high revenue teams, such as the Red Sox, went out and hired smart analysts and quickly eroded any advantage the Oakland A’s had. If there had been a proprietary data set that Oakland could have built to better value players than the competition, their edge may have been sustainable."