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Athletics Hang On For Another Division Title

Things could not have looked better for the Oakland Athletics going into the second half of the season. The A's entered the "dog days of summer" with a commanding 17 game lead on the rest of the American League West division. The only injury of note was to third baseman Eric Chavez, but Adam Piatt played very well in his place and made a clear statement that he was not a player to be left on the bench. The lineup looked solid from top to bottom and the pitching staff was the best in baseball in the first half. It looked as if all the Athletics had to do was show up and collect the division championship. However, the games had to actually be played, and the A's would soon see looks are deceiving.

Things started out okay coming out of the break. Oakland managed to take 2 out of 3 from their cross town rivals, the Giants. Everything started going wrong after that. The Athletics would get Chavez back, but would lose a number of other players to small nagging injuries. Oakland would limp through the rest of July, barely breaking .500. Meanwhile, the Mariners started getting hot and nibling into Oaklands lead. Despite this, the A's would stand pat at the trading deadline, choosing not to make any changes to the team. 
Early August would not be much better, as the Athletics struggled to a 2-8 record in the first 10 games of the month. One day the rotation would let the team down, the next day the offense, and the next would be the bullpen. Oakland would finally get back on a winning track by beating the White Sox in 2 out of 3 and then sweeping Cleveland. As the team got healthier they started playing much more consistently. The lead over the Mariners, which had shrunk down to 9 games, was now growing again.

The Athletics all but wrapped up the division when they tore off a 9 game winning streak from the end of August until early September. Oakland would beat up on the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals and expand their lead again. By the middle of the month it was over and the A's would win their third West division championship in a row, going 102-60 and topping Seattle by 14 games.

Mark Mulder led the rotation with 18 wins, but the most dominant pitcher on the staff was probably the one with the least wins. Barry Zito only managed 12 victories for the season, but finished with a 2.20 ERA. Opposing batters only hit .190 against Zito and managed just a .264 slugging percentage. Jim Mecir was absolutely dominant as the closer, finishing the season with 41 saves.

Offensively the Athletics were led by a cast of many. Shortstop Miquel Tejada led the team in homeruns with 32 and RBIs with 99. Catcher Brook Fordyce was not far behind with 27 homers and 96 RBIs. Johnny Damon provided the spark at the top of the lineup, hitting .285 with 102 runs and 20 steals. Adam Piatt also made a nice return from injury and looks like he could be a future star. In just 105 games Piatt hit .311 with 15 homeruns. Jason Giambi had a down year, hitting just .275 with 20 homers. 

Oakland will take on the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota finished with an 86-76 record, holding off the White Sox to win the Central division. The Boston Red Sox captured the East division again, compiling a 100-62 record. The Sox will play Seattle, who captured the Wild Card with an 88-74 record.

In the National League The Montreal Expos finished up their dream season by holding off the New York Mets to win the East. New York made the playoffs again as the Wild Card team. The Houston Astros dethroned Cincinatti in the Central race, winning 86 games. In the west, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who cruised past the competition to win the division title.