It seems that a languishing baseball film will finally step into the batters box for a production start date this summer. Deadline New York is reporting that Columbia Pictures is close to locking down a July start date for Moneyball.

While the film still hasn't officially been given the green light, it was said that progress is being made since the principals involved have agreed to amend their deals for the film, which will bring the budget down from $58 million to $47 million. It was also said that the latest draft of Aaron Sorkin's script has gotten everyone excited about the film.

It was also said that director Bennett Miller would start casting the film soon and that the real-life baseball players such as Scott Hatteberg, David Justice, Darryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra, who were originally set to play themselves, will not be appearing in the film. We'll be sure to keep you posted on any new details about Moneyball as soon as more information comes in.