JUST A-BYSMAL
Oakland’s approach proves on the money
THE A’s are hardly a surprise team anymore, not after back-to-back AL West titles the last two years. But they’re still underexposed nationally, so much so that they openly relish the chance to strut their stuff on the big stage in the Bronx. “Absolutely we do,” closer Sean Doolittle said late Tuesday night. “Everybody in here plays with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, with something to prove.
“We want some of that national recognition. This is a chance for us to show the teams that are always on ESPN that we can play a little bit, too.’’
Yes, the A’s were puffing their chests a bit after their 5-2 win in 10 innings over the Yankees, and why not?
Their numbers offer overwhelming proof that the A’s are the best team in the American League and perhaps all of baseball this season, but the grit they showed in rallying late against the Yankees’ lockdown bullpen was more impressive.
Especially i n tying the game against Dellin Betances, who lately has been practically untouchable.
“We knew he has been really good,” said Doolittle, “but we’re sitting there in the bullpen when he came in, looking at his numbers on the scoreboard, and we were like, ‘whaaat?’
“So this is a huge win, to beat their bullpen. But that’s what this team is all about. We get in close games and find a way to get it done.”
For the Yankees it’s just the opposite these days, and indeed these may be two teams heading in quite the opposite directions.
Clearly the A’s are legit, yet sometimes you still wonder exactly how they do it. Maybe it’s an East Coast bias, but you look at the A’s lineup, and even their pitching staff, and see only a handful of names the casual fan would recognize.
To be sure, the baseball world may be starting to recognize Josh Donaldson as a bona fide star; Brandon Moss (two home runs Tuesday) as one of the league’s most dangerous lefthanded sluggers; Sonny Gray as an ace in the making and Scott Kazmir as the latest reason to believe Billy Beane really did deserve to have a movie made about him.
Still, the A’s roster is still filled largely with unheralded players, such as backup catcher Stephen Vogt who got the big hit of the night, the game-tying double against Betances.
So maybe the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality is why this team plays with a day-to-day intensity that people around the ballclub say goes a long way toward explaining its success.
“They’ve done some growing the last couple of years,” says third base coach Mike Gallego, the one-time Yankee shortstop. “But at the same time, I don’t know if they know how good they really are.
“They just come to play every day with this grind-it-out attitude that takes nothing for granted. As a team we feel we can compete against anybody as long as we’re playing fundamentally sound baseball, because we know when we don’t, we get it handed to us.”
It’s a blue-collar approach befitting a small-market team with poor attendance that plays in the worst stadium in the majors — the old Oakland Coliseum as it was originally known — while A’s management fights endlessly for the right to move to San Jose. But let’s not pretend as if they’re doing this with mirrors. For one thing, their 36-22 record is the best in the AL, and second-best in the majors to the 37-21 Giants.
Even more impressively, the A’s have a run differential of plus-118, which practically triples that of the next best team in the AL — the Blue Jays at plus-41.
No surprise, then, the A’s have scored the most runs, 301, but their dominant run differential is built largely on their league-best total of 183 runs allowed, which as of Tuesday was 56 runs fewer than any other AL team.
“They’re underrated offensively,” says an AL scout, “but pitching is what really separates them.”
Yes, the A’s lead the AL with a 2.93 ERA, which is more than a half-run better than that of the second-ranked team, the Mariners at 3.52.
“And they lost two of their best starters,” the AL scout said, referring to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, who were both lost to Tommy John surgery. “I’ll tell you what, we all used to say that Billy (Beane) got way too much credit back when “Moneyball” (the book) came out, but he’s put all that talk to rest over the years. Nobody is better at finding pitchers.”
Baseball people raised eyebrows at the A’s decision to sign Kazmir to a twoyear, $22 million contract, but he has proven to be well worth it — now 6-2 with a 2.40 ERA after striking out 10 Yankees over 6.1 innings Tuesday.
Add it all up and the A’s are anything but a surprise anymore. And they love getting the chance to prove it here in the Bronx.