FanNation

Another week of the MLB season has passed us, and another week the Oakland A's and the Angels sit neck and neck atop the AL West. In a week which saw Jack Cust be named AL player of the week for the period ending May 4^th, the Oakland A's welcomed the Baltimore Orioles and promptly dispatched them with a three game sweep. The A's head into their off day Thursday on a four game win streak, and a share (STILL!) of first place with the Angels, tied for the best record in the AL (along with Boston) at 22-14. Two of the three A's wins against the O's took 10 innings, with Wednesdays triumph coming on a dramatic walk-off Mark Ellis Home Run - the first of his career. If April were only a fluke start for the A's, May has shown that the "fluke" is not going away any time soon.

Most encouraging has been the resurgence of the A's pitching staff. April call-up Greg Smith, finished last month 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA and is one of the four finalists for the Gillette AL rookie of the month award. Dana Eveland and Justin Duscherer have both pitched extremely well and have winning records with low ERA's. Rich Harden will be coming off the DL to pitch Sunday against the Rangers. Looks like Chad Gaudin will be moving to the bullpen to facilitate the rotation change, with Dallas Braden probably going back down to Sac. This will move will likely boost the bullpen with the best ERA (2.63) in the Majors, meaning theoretically the pen will be deep enough pitchers won't have to pitch consecutive games. The A's pitchers have allowed the 2^nd fewest runs in the AL, and have the 2^nd most strikeouts of any staff. Huston Street sits at 5^th in the AL with 9 saves.

For the hitters, Emil Brown continues to be "The RBI Machine" tallying up 29 RBI's so far, good enough for 2^nd in the AL. Not bad for a guy who is not a home run hitter. Frank Thomas is proving to be a huge steal for Billy Beane, hitting the ball with authority on a regular basis since joining the team. Over his first eleven games with the A's he's hitting .314 (11-for-35) and added a clutch RBI in the final game against the O's which helped the A's tie it up and send it into extra innings. With Mike Sweeney hitting .305, and the aforementioned Jack Cust swinging the bat so well, Manager Bob Geren's biggest task may be finding enough playing time for all 3 of these guys as the season continues. Kurt Suzuki continues to hit the ball well, and OF Ryan Sweeney has registered 14 RBI's in only part time duty.

The A's begin a long 9 game road trip Friday, beginning with the Texas Rangers. Then they travel back to Cleveland for the 2^nd time this season, before beginning the interleague schedule with the Atlanta Braves. This should be a tough stretch, but so far this season the A's have racked up a 10-5 mark on the road. Will the unlikely  A's magic end? Or will they continue to defy the experts and run with the Big Dogs? Stay tuned.