The Oakland Athletics are off to a 9-5 start this season which has them in first place in the A.L. West, 2.5 games ahead of both the Angels and Mariners. The A’s have gotten great pitching and better hitting than they expected as they have outscored opponents 62-47 this season. The Yankees come in for a 3-game set in Oakland starting tomorrow so we will get a chance to judge them against the defending World Champions. The Indians come in for a 3-game set over the weekend. We will see if the A’s are in first place after this week.

The A’s are now 5-2 on the season as they are in first place in the A.L. West, 1.5 games up on the Rangers. The A’s have outscored their opponents 39-25 so far this year. The offense has been a surprise for the A’s and they can maintain a good record if they continue to hit because they have a solid pitching staff. The A’s have a 2.98 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP as a team so far this season. The A’s will stay busy as they have to play 7 games again this week. It starts with 3 games at Safeco Field against the Mariners starting tonight and then they fly home to play 4 games against the struggling Orioles.

The A’s pushed around the Mariners this week taking three out of four games from them. They did it with good clutch hitting and solid pitching. The A’s beat the Mariners at their own game but they now travel to Anaheim to deal with a Angels’ team that is probably in a bad frame of mind after the Twins took 3 out of 4 games from them this week. It will be interesting to see how the A’s do against the Angels as they hope to build on their early season success this weekend.

Chad Gaudin was outstanding in the first half of the 2007 season as he was 8-3 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 18 starts before the All-Star Break. The second half of the season has been a disaster however as Gaudin has started 14 games and he is 3-9 with a 6.81 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. The A’s better look for someone to replace Gaudin in the rotation for next season because he has proven that he can’t start for a whole season. He’s better used as a long reliever/spot starter. The A’s hope they can hold off the Texas Rangers for third place in the American League West. They are now 74-79 which has them 16 games behind the Angels and only 3 games ahead of the Rangers.

The poor Oakland A’s have suffered so many injuries this season that it’s amazing that they have played as well as they have. The A’s are currntly 71-75 which has them in 3rd place in the American League West, 15 games behind the Angels. Old friend Ron Washington has rallied his young Texas Rangers team and they are only 1 game behind the A’s. The A’s need to dig down deep if they don’t want to finish in last place in the American League West.