The A's are at .500...and in first place. It's already weird that the White Sox are over .500 and in second, but the A's commanding the AL West, despite the Mariners still honestly playing better baseball at times, is doubly weird. We knew it was gonna happen eventually, but...even A's fans can admit that this isn't the kind of A's team they expected to flock to first.
I mean, there's still more 'okay' than flat out 'elite' on this team, and that's still enough for first. Brent Rooker's hitting .204, and Butler and Soderstrom are still under .200. The idea was that the whole team would come together and keep down the competition, but what we have here is a streaky, inconsistent roster with the occasional lethal pops. Shea Langeliers is hitting .337, which is the highest average in the bigs. He also has 12 homers and 27 RBIs, which you could have guessed. Nick Kurtz has 29 RBIs, pivoting to all-around contact demolition rather than solely the long ball. Jeff McNeil's been very handy as an under-the-radar contact bat. And look at Carlos Cortes, former Mets farmhand now starting in the outfield and hitting .340 with 34 hits, 15 RBIs and 4 homers. Cortes is going crazy at the plate and providing that x-factor the team needs with three or four key pieces down for the count.
The part that's amusing me in all of this, still, is the success of the rotation despite the lack of a homegrown ace. The closest thing to a homegrown pitching talent they have right now is Jacob Lopez, and he's got a 6 ERA through 9 starts. It's all guys like J.T. Finn, dealt for Chris Bassitt, who's got a 3.12 ERA, and the contracted guys like Sevvy and Springs, who have high ERAs but stay in for a while. The big surprise has been Aaron Civale, after his years of journeying, finally settling and returning to his Cleveland numbers. He's 5-1 right now with a 2.70 ERA and 35 Ks, keeping runs down and not overexerting himself. It's not the ideal strategy but right now it's working, which can also be said for the low-key but effective bullpen.
The A's have somehow found a working model. I was watching them for a bit yesterday, and apart from Kurtz' continuing on-base streak, there wasn't a ton to write home about, but it just seemed like an off day for them. This is a team that can come alive out of nowhere and outhit the majority of the league. They're hitting .252 as a team, pretty much the whole lineup has over 10 RBIs right now, they've got a hits leader and a doubles leader batting in the same frame...and they haven't even truly gotten going yet.
Coming Tomorrow- One of those cases where I'm relieved the rookie novelty subsided and we just get to enjoy how good of a player this guy's become.
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