Nine things we’ve learned about the A’s so far

The A’s are two weeks into the season, they’ll be 10 percent through after this weekend, and one of the biggest surprises in baseball is that this team remains a mystery.

After an offseason roster stripdown that sent away stars Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea and others, a 100-loss season – or even a run at the 1962 Mets’ 120 losses – seemed like a real possibility. And it wasn’t just the low budget, “who-is-that-guy?” roster that raised red flags. Opening the season with a 10-game road trip, all against playoff contenders, figured to crater the A’s into a hole they’d never dig out of.

Well, they more than survived the Phillies, Rays and Blue Jays, going 55. Then they returned home and won three of four from the Orioles and even spent one day this week in first place.

So is this team’s DNA closer to the 2012 Green and Gold, which was dismantled in the offseason only to stun everyone and win the AL West? Or is it closer to the 1978 squad that went 16-5 in April and still finished with 93 losses?

It’s still way too early to tell — remember, last season the A’s started 17 and were in playoff contention until the final weekend of the season. But here are nine things we’ve learned about the A’s so far:

1 — You can’t buy wins (but it’ll probably help): The A’s slashed their payroll, yet still entered play Friday night with an 8-6 record and in second place in the American League West. One of the teams chasing them – and across the diamond this weekend – was the Texas Rangers, who spent half a billion dollars on Marcus Semien and Corey Seager and are off to a 3-9 start. All those resources probably will even things out in the long run, but over the years the A’s have done more with less than just about any franchise.

2 — Attendance will be the story of the season no matter how the team performs: After more than a year of ownership bad-mouthing the badly out-dated Coliseum in its attempts to get a waterfront stadium deal while openly courting Las Vegas, and fans being asked to pay more for tickets while top stars were jettisoned (again), the early reaction was inevitable: a mostly empty ballpark. Crowds of fewer than 4,000 for two of the Orioles games were the smallest at the Coliseum since 1980, and they will soon have company. The first “big” potential home draw, the Red Sox, isn’t until June.

3 — If you go to the Coliseum, get a scorecard to keep track of who’s on the field: The A’s rebuilding season figured to include a lot of new faces, but the team is on a record pace. The A’s have already used 35 players. The MLB record is 67, set by the Mariners two seasons ago. The A’s have a chance – this is, after all, a franchise that once used 30 players in one game during the 1972 season.

4 — Tony Kemp has become a must-watch at-bat: It’s not like the days of Mark McGwire or Jason Giambi – Kemp has 23 career home runs – but the left-handed hitter makes things happen. He’s tied for the team lead in hits, has an on-base percentage of .415 and puts the ball in play – he’s struck out just five times in his first 53 plate appearances.

5 — Cristian Pache is quickly becoming a fan favorite: The center fielder is only 23 and wildly inconsistent at the plate (batting .208 with 11 strikeouts and no walks), but plays great defense, has power potential and plays hard. He’s also entertaining and pretty open on Twitter (@cristianpache25). Remember, when he learned he was part of the Olson trade he conceded in a tweet that he was heartbroken to leave the Braves. He’s used social media to connect with A’s fans and they have responded.

6 — A’s fans should enjoy Sean Murphy while they can: The young catcher is the best player on the A’s roster and someone a team could build around. But he also might be more valuable in adding more pieces to the A’s rebuild, especially if he continues to improve at the plate. Murphy won the AL Gold Glove last season, has enormous power potential and, perhaps most valuable of all, has four years of team control remaining. The A’s also have catching depth, with Shea Langeliers nearly ready for the majors and top pick Tyler Soderstrom developing, too.

7 — This is why the A’s wanted Sheldon Neuse: When the A’s traded Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madsen to the Nationals in July 2017 they got Jesus Luzardo and Blake Treinen, but also had high hopes for another player in the deal, Neuse. The infielder tore up the A’s minor league system for parts of three seasons, but he didn’t show much in the majors with the A’s in 2019 or last season with the Dodgers. He returned to Oakland as a waiver claim in camp and has been one of the hottest hitters in the majors to start the season, collecting 14 hits in his first 38 at-bats with an OPS over .900.

8 — Don’t bet against Christian Bethancourt: The 30-year-old catcher/first baseman is back in the majors for the first time since 2017, initially as a COVID-19 injury replacement. But it looks like he might stick around. That’s been the MO for Bethancourt, who signed his first contract as a 16-year-old in Panama, played in the 2013 Futures Game, tried his hand at pitching for a bit before going back to catching, spent time in the Korean League and now has appeared in seven straight games with the A’s since he was called up when the team lost players to the COVID list before the Toronto series.

9 — Paul Blackburn might be this season’s Chris Bassitt: The 28-yearold right-hander has been in and out of the A’s rotation since 2017 with mixed (or worse) results, but his first three starts have been ace level. Relying more on his changeup and curveball than his sinker and cutter, Blackburn is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The biggest improvement has been with his command — he’s walked just one in 15 innings with 14 strikeouts.