Oakland Athletics’ Mason Miller pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Has been a big part of the A’s closing opportunities and could be on the trade deadline in July or could be one of the future foundations for the A’s (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A’s Mid-Season Report: Not to Lose 100 Again?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s have played 86 games, and they are already into the second half of this 2024 season. Their record of 30-56 is seven games over last season, when at this same time of the season, they had a 23-63 record. From July 2 of last season to July 2 this season, the A’s have seven more wins and seven fewer lost games. What does this mean?

Does it mean they are going to lose 100 games again? They might not lose 112 games as they did in 2023, but they could also end with at least 100 games in the lost column. With a day off Monday, July 1, the A’s return to Oakland after a 1-5 road trip, swept in Anaheim and lost 2 of 3 in Arizona.

They will face the Angels on Tuesday for a three-game series, who swept them last week in Disneyland. They will be followed by the Baltimore Orioles, one of the best teams in baseball. The O’s have been taking turns on first place with the New York Yankees, and more than likely, one of those two teams will win the AL East. The O’s and Yanks are on the list of possible World Series winners this year.

Since they began to play in Oakland in 1968, it was in 1979 (another transition season) that the A’s ended with a 54-108 record. In 2022, with 60-102, and last season in 2023, with 50-112. They could quickly lose 100 or more again.

They continue to rebuild and are in transition, with their main goal to develop the players that, in the future, could make their team like the Orioles. The Orioles also leased the cellar not long ago, but they drafted many good players; a few are headed soon to the All-Star Game in Texas, traded for others, and are a young powerhouse. We will see these O’s soon after the Angels visit Oakland; as a matter of schedule, the Orioles are here next Friday for a 3-game soiree with the young Athletics.

Bleday, Gelof, Soderstrom, Langeliers, Miller, Medina, Rooker, Erceg, and Butler are some of the new names and faces in Oakland who could be the foundation for a better future. However, the trade deadline is at the end of this month, and nobody should be surprised if some of the young talent will also be departing, making room for… more young talent for that long-awaited future.

But as far as this season, who is counting?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com