Everything Is A’s-OK in Oakland

So far this season, the Oakland Athletics are the definition of polarizing, going from one of the worst starts to a season in recent memory to sitting just one game out of first in the AL West.

They began by taking a beating at the hands of their divisional rivals, the Houston Astros, only to go on to face the reigning World Series champions, who didn’t treat them much better. They lost their first six, finally got a victory and then immediately lost again to drop to 1-7.

At that point, however, whatever needed to click did. The A’s won two of a three-game series against the aforementioned Astros, swept the Arizona Diamondbacks and beat up the Detroit Tigers in exciting fashion. This currently puts them on a seven-game win streak as of Sunday’s victory.

They answered a historically slow start with all-around great baseball that reminded everyone that they are still competitive. Although the A’s lost some key players and didn’t spend as much as other teams this offseason, they are every bit as dangerous as they were last year and are ready to compete for the division once again.

The best place to start with the A’s is in the bullpen. Previously considered one of, if not the best in the majors last year, the unit went through some changes in the offseason that included the losses of all-star RHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Joakim Soria and LHP T.J. McFarland. They tried to break even by adding RHP Sergio Romo, RHP Trevor Rosenthal and LHP Adam Kolarek.

The bullpen’s start was shaky. Even though the A’s began the season without Rosenthal — their most significant offseason investment — due to injury, they seem to have found their footing and have started to put together solid outings. RHP Lou Trivino has been a highlight filling in at the closer role, while LHP Jake Diekman, RHP J.B. Wendelken and RHP Yusmeiro Petit, despite not being as seemingly perfect as they were last year, are still tremendous assets out of the ‘pen.

There’ll continue to be some tinkering to figure out who could fill the enormous shoes of some of the bullpen pieces they lost, but this unit should still stack up against the best in the league.

On the other hand, the starting rotation was left entirely alone this winter, with most offseason assets going toward the bullpen. As a result, the roster will once again rely on SP Chris Bassitt to lead the rotation and trust SP Jesús Luzardo to grow into the role of a reliable starter.

The first trip through the rotation made this strategy seem like a mistake, seeing as none of these starters looked close to being ready for the season — Luzardo especially. But this shows the club’s philosophy. They feel their best shot at success is to rely on a solid bullpen and their dynamic offense to lead this team to a fourth straight playoff appearance.

SS Marcus Semien was the most notable departure on the offensive side. Just two years removed from finishing third in the MVP race, Semien slumped last year and hasn’t started this year any better. Even worse has been his replacement, SS Elvis Andrus, who the A’s acquired from the Texas Rangers. Let’s just say terrible is a mild description of his performance thus far.

Nonetheless, this offense in the past week has shown glimpses of their true potential. If you look at what the A’s hitters have accomplished during that time, you’ll find bats that are capable of being just as deadly as they were last year.

The core of 1B Matt Olson, 2B Jed Lowrie and OF Mark Canha has been great during this stretch of games. OF Ramón Laureano has more stolen bases on his own than 22 clubs have in total, and despite 3B Matt Chapman’s early struggles, he’s now started to show signs of life.

I’ll be the first to admit that I overacted when the season began. I looked too deeply and thought of all the mistakes they made. “They should’ve got a starter,” or “they should’ve tried harder for Hendriks,” and “they won’t be the same without Semien.” But it turns out that whatever system they have up there seems to work, and manager Bob Melvin is more than capable of handling some adversity.

I’m not going to go crazy and say that the A’s will for sure win the division, or they will for sure do this or that. The season is too young, and that bit me in the ass already. But don’t count out the A’s at any point. They have too much talent in the pen and tons of experience at the plate. If you are still sorting out what to make of the A’s, know at the very least that they are a playoff-caliber club.

Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Chiu/AP Photo