So amid all the NBA, World Cup and Jimmy Graham drama, I’ve let pretty much all baseball above the prep level slip underneath my radar for the majority of this season. I know Derek Jeter’s making the rounds on his retirement tour, that the Yankees are missing their entire rotation, that the Red Sox are down and that my beloved Cleveland Indians are middling in the AL Central. 

So when I decided to take a look at exactly what IS going on in baseball, one thing blasted off the MLB Standings page more than anything else …

… What in the heck is going on in Oakland?!?!?!

When a team is completely dominating its given sport, it almost always attracts my attention, regardless of the given game in question. An undefeated fighter ruling everyone in a round or less will get me out to Buffalo Wild Wings to see his or her latest conquest (the her is there intentionally. The UFC’s Ronda Rousey is no joke). In the NBA, the 20-plus game win streaks that Miami and San Antonio have put together in recent seasons were incredible things to witness. 

The Athletics aren’t yet a ‘great team,’ perhaps, but what they’ve accomplished over the first half of the season certainly distances themselves from the pack.

Oakland boasts 59 wins thus far, two games ahead of their divisional foe L.A. Angels and at least five ahead of the next closest team. Their run differential is a whopping +145; nobody else is over 100, the next closest to them being — you guessed it — the Angels, with a +89. Washington’s +61 is good for third place. The A’s are 56 runs better than baseball’s second best team and nearly 100 better than its third (fine, 84. Writers can math too, y’all). 

Oakland’s payroll of $85 million is good for 25th in the league. The A’s put seven players on the All-Star team, those players combining to make $28.55 million this season. Clayton Kershaw will make more of that on his own a year from now, and Dodgers’ teammate Zach Greinke nearly makes that much ($26 million). 

Mind you, the Dodgers are very good in 2014, holding down first place in the NL West. But that a team can have TWO players capable of making the kind of money that another team’s seven (again … SEVEN!) All-Stars are hauling in tells you exactly how well the Athletics have built this team. 

There aren’t many familiar names on that Oakland roster, not yet anyway. Coco Crisp simply gets on base and scores runs. Brandon Moss and Josh Donaldson have combined to hit 41 home runs. Deeper than that, it seems incredible that this team could be second in runs scored; in terms of hitting, the teams structure completely belies the “Moneyball” approach that Billy Beane (and author Michael Lewis) popularized. Crisp gets on base at a .387 clip; beyond him, nobody bests .353, and four of the A’s more productive lineup regulars are at a ghastly .321 or lower. As a team, the A’s get on base at a .328 clip. 

The A’s easy to recognize strength, rather, comes in the pitching department, and the stats make it easy to see why. A 3.09 team ERA and a 1.16 team WHIP (!!!) and a staff full of hurlers that strikeout everyone and don’t walk anyone. I laughed when I saw someone had signed Scott Kazmir for good money in the offseason. “His arm is falling off!” 

A 2.38 ERA and 0.67 ERA later … you win this round, Kaz.  

Sean Dolittle has struck out 63 batters in 43.2 innings. Their “worst” regular starter is spinning a 3.14 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, and the team just traded for Jeff Samardzija, who was pitching extremely well despite a 2-7 record for the Cubs (talk about a rescue mission). He’s doing even better in Oaktown. 

The Angels, contrarily, are full of players that largely need no introduction. Mike Trout has been anointed (and deservedly so, based on production) as the game’s latest great. Albert Pujols has reclaimed some of his mojo. Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson are well-known ace caliber pitchers, combining with relative newcomer Garrett Richards to create a powerful front rotation. 

It should be a heck of a race down the stretch. These teams won’t face off until the end of August, which will see them throw down seven times in 10 days. 

That could turn the season for either club, and should make for some fun viewing as we try to contain ourselves in the shadow of the NFL kickoff, and the certain 25 touchdown Jimmy Graham season that will come with it … 😉