Moneyball: The art of winning at the box office

IT’S the top of the 10th inning in Houston and the St Louis Cardinals are battling for the right to keep playing in October, baseball’s favourite month.

Four states and almost 800 miles north-east of there, the Atlanta Braves are still sitting by their lockers, murmuring into dictaphones as they try to find a new way to describe this sinking feeling.

Beaten again, the Braves players keep an eye on the television, hoping the Houston Astros can do them a favour against the Cardinals.