By Gina Morrone ’14

Funny thing happened when I started writing this article…it took me a second to remember where Oakland was. Eventually I realized that, oh yeah, it’s in California, and the A’s share their home with a football team.

I think Oakland baseball will become a whole lot more relevant in the coming years, thanks to the A’s.  They were a pretty weak program a few years ago, but after breaking .500 last year for the first time since 2006 and winning the division, the team is on the rise.  Some might be surprised to find the A’s are hanging in there with the Texas Rangers in the AL West, but I’m not.  They are on track to be a real contender as the season progresses.

Compared to other early standouts, the A’s have the best shot at keeping their momentum going.  The Upton brothers are certainly keeping the Braves afloat, which is no surprise to me, but they might run out of steam soon. Besides, didn’t they lose to the Cardinals in the wild-card playoff last year? Talk about choking.

The Colorado Rockies are doing fine so far, but came up short against both the Braves and the San Francisco Giants.  The Braves outscored them 14-5, and the Giants 23-8.

The only team I see rivaling Oakland’s early success is the Boston Red Sox, who are off to a successful start, especially on the road (7-2).  But I don’t think anyone can beat the A’s offense right now.  The bats are hot.

Earlier this month, Oakland tore through their schedule, winning nine games in a row and scoring 69 runs along the way.  Their opponents tallied 27.

The A’s have five guys over .300 right now, with Seth Smith and Jed Lowry leading the way.  The two have combined for 50 hits in 40 games, bringing in 24 runs.  Coco Crisp (love the name) has five home runs, and has stolen seven bases so far.

The offense is on and it’ll take a lot to stop it.  The A’s will be a team to look out for through the Fall.