The A's have quietly been one of the better teams in the American League for the past two months. As USA Today's Bob Nightengale observed last night (on X), only the Astros have a better record among AL clubs since the start of July. Oakland was above .500 in both July and August; last night's walk-off win over Seattle has pushed them to 31-22 since July began. They've outscored opponents by 37 runs in that time.
Their second-half success doesn't have much impact this year. The A's had a dreadful first half that ensures they're headed to a third straight losing season. They'll probably avoid a third last-place finish in as many years, but they're not likely to finish higher than fourth in the AL West. Even with 90 losses still in play, the past few months offer a glimpse at a better future for A's fans who'll stick with the team in Sacramento and Las Vegas. That's particularly true in the lineup, where a controllable core is beginning to take shape.
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statman
Exciting news for a’s fans … both of them!!!
roob
I love the team apart from ownership. Some very good and interesting players.
William Gibson
Implying that Ruiz is a bust overstates the matter, I believe. He was a burner last year, and was doing well until he hurt his wrist and the Oakland management began playing service time management by keeping him down in AAA. He certainly has the speed to cover CF; the issues will be whether the A’s management stops messing around, and whether he gets sufficient time and/or coaching in the off-season to learn to cover the field.
JoeBrady
Nice rebuild so far. For all the talk about Fisher, he is a much better owner than guys like the Angels, WS, Miami, Rockies, etc.
Edp007
Doing a very good job. Correctly at deadline. Held on to rooker and miller knowing contention is coming soon. Good thing mlbtr posters don’t run the team. lol
Steinbrenner2728
Oh, JoeBrady and Edpoo… Billy Beane and a bit of David Forst are the reason why Fisher has been spared all of the talk. Let me know when Fisher has made the World Series… compared to Reinsdorf (White Sox), and even Monfort (Rockies)
Bvmmer
Butler and rooker are the best 1-2 in baseball
dlj0527
Mix and match players from A’s and Giants roster and the team would be a wild card team right now. I’ve been thinking Giants would kill for the A’s offense over past 3 years while A’s would want parts of Giants pitching staff from past 3 years.
dlj0527
I’m also starting to wonder how many in say this years primary lineup will still be with A’s when they play first game in Las Vegas?
JoeBrady
Probably most of them. My guess is that this team was constructed with LV in mind. Except for 2022/23, the As have generally out pretty decent teams.
Mitchell Page
Yep . Now to be rid of those Lets Go Oakland turds in the stands . Get rid of that stadium and their last dive bar culture would be a wonderful thing . I will not watch any home games this season . Only road .
Mitchell Page
The A’s will be so much better once they rid themselves of that stadium and their awful fans who insist on being obnoxious turds who yell Lets Go Oakland in a 12 to 3 loss . The sooner they rid themselves of that nuisance which is Last Dive Bar culture the better .
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Whatever you say Fisher
westcasey
Ownership (Fisher) is not baseball competitive, but business driven. The A’s under Fisher will remain tantalizingly lousy, with their unsupported core.
The Contreras mistake is huge.
MLBTR needs to hire editors
This is a transactions site, not an A’s blog. Given that they’re talking about a core of players, I assume they’re not trade candidates. They probably aren’t even talking about them as extension candidates. All in all, another puff piece for a dying site trying to remain relevant by being a discount Fangraphs.
Why on earth would I pay for this when the writers at Fangraphs analyze on-field things much better and for free than the hack writers (Polishuk excepted) here?
Stop this nonsense and maybe I’ll subscribe.