FanNation - The Republic of Sport

So here's the dilemma. The A's are playing really great ball so far this season, overachieving in a big way. What is a true fan to do? All offseason long I've been railing on Billy Beane trading away our best players, and what happens? All these kids and over the hillers have so far done the unfathomable at the seasons outset, they sit tied with the Angels for first place at 9-6, just after completing a 6-2 road trip. Do I write about how good they are doing, or do I continue ranting against Beane so as not to jinx them?

Dangit! I'm gonna write about how good they are doing!  Do I think they can fight with the Angels for first place in the long run. Heck No. Are we going to see this A's team playing meaningful games in October? Don't make me laugh. But I, as a realistic A's fan am here to tell you, I Like This Scrappy Young Bunch. I'm sure now I've said it they will begin to lose and will somehow find a way to be even worse than the Rangers (not so easy). But we have some great young players, as well as some old vets who are doing a more than adequate job so far this season.

Without a doubt, my favorite this year is Kurt Suzuki. The Hawaii Kid so far has a .347 average, including a 4 for 4 night on Tuesday against the ChiSox. Travis Buck has had a slow start avg wise, but busted out for 6 doubles in the series against Toronto. He also has his hair barely contained in his batting helmet, every young team needs to have at least one guy like that. Also gotta love the job Ryan Sweeney has done so far in CF. Nick Who? Ryan's hitting .348 this year.

Then we have our 2008 old-timers who nobody but Beane thought had anything left. Mike Sweeney is hitting .298 at the DH spot, and Emil Brown has 9 RBI's already. Yes, the A's are getting good production out of 2 ex-KC Royals. Can I bash Beane for that? Nope. Impossible. Longtime A Mark Ellis also has 9 ribbies so far, and even Bobby Crosby is flashing a pretty decent bat this year, hitting .271 coming into today's action. These are all positive signs and give me a boost out of the blah that I was feeling this season was going to be.

There is still a Major problem with Starting pitching though. Dana Eveland has pitched well despite losing yesterday and newcomer Greg Smith looks promising as well. But after that, it really falls off. Harden and Duscherer went to the DL last week. Blanton needed 9 runs of support to beat the Indians and the only thing Chad Gaudin has working for him is that funny mustache/goatee thing. Huston Street has somehow managed to amass 4 saves while looking wholly unimpressive. I've now decided Mr. Beane can go ahead and pull the trigger on trading Mr. Street, while other GM's may still be thinking he has some value.

So this next week the A's will be in the friendly, spacious, confines of McAffee Coliseum. Games coming up against the Mariners, Royals and Twins. Not exactly going to bring out huge crowds with those teams, but we should have a shot at coming out of this homestand with a winning record. Who knows? Maybe this time next week we will still be in first place. I'm going to enjoy it while I can, because I know it can't last. The pitching hasn't been great, and they don't hit a lot of home runs. They just keep winning more than they lose, and ya gotta like that.