First in ERA, Second in Runs, and Not To Be Believed

I've spent the first 30 games of the 2008 MLB season waiting for the other shoe to drop on the A's, who started the year with a split in Japan, and have quietly showed that they plan on playing meaningful games all year long.

Remarkably, they've done it without power (26th in MLB in homers and slugging, 20th in OPS... but 4th in runs scored), or experienced pitching (40 innings of sub 1 ERA from relievers Santiago Casila, Joey Devine and Andrew Brown). Offensively, they've just been getting on base (7th in MLB at .343, and more importantly, a whopping .42 edge on their opponents). It's all added up to an 18-12 start, and if the season ended today, a wild-card berth. more...