Kuzul

After their first 40 games, the Oakland A's are 20-20 in the 2013 season.Remember 2012? The A's started 20-20 as well. In 2006, The A's—led by Frank Thomas—rode a five-game winning streak to get to 21-19 after 40 games. Historically, the A's have tended to be a slow-starting team. Under manager Bob Geren, the club never started better than 23-17 through 40 games (2008) and started as slowly as 15-25 (2009) while opening 20-20 three times. Go back to the Moneyball era when the A's opened 21-19 (2000), 18-22 (2001) and 19-21 (2002) after 40 games. Oakland went on to win 91, 102, and 103 games those three seasons, respectively.In many ways, the 12-4 start that the Athletics have raced out to this season was a bit of fool's gold. Eleven of those 12 wins came at the expense of AL West foes Seattle, Los Angeles (Angels) and Houston. Those teams sit a combined ...

As the 2013 Major League Baseball season race reaches the quarter pole, it becomes time to take stock of where teams and players are in terms of production. In the American League West, the Texas Rangers have taken their customary position of being the front runner, largely due to tremendous pitching and consistent power in the lineup. The A's and Mariners have both been largely inconsistent, with the A's scuffling back to .500 since starting the year 12-4. However, the biggest story has been the lack of success in Anaheim as the Los Angeles Angels are not fighting for an expected spot at the top, but trying to keep clear of division newcomers the Houston Astros. In the basement.There have been solid performances from individuals on all five teams. But sometimes, overlapping positions keep deserving players from receiving deserved accolades. This will likely be no exception. So instead of lamenting who is not, ...

Since the team moved from Kansas City to Oakland 45 years ago, the A's have largely been a team built on great pitching. Whether it was Charley Finley's Mustache Gang, the 1981 "Billyball" club, the Walter Haas owned/Tony LaRussa run team from 1988 to 1992 or Billy Beane's Moneyball teams, Oakland has always won with great pitching.As such, there have been great pitching performances—some in the regular season, others in the playoffs or even the World Series. Finding the 10 best is a matter of circumstance and history. It is also highly subjective. Having followed this franchise since 1985, I have seen good, bad and ugly. But it has almost always been interesting. With that said, here's a nice look back in to time. Here's my list for the 10 greatest pitching performances in Oakland A's team history.  *Stats are courtesy of "Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.Begin Slideshow

Barry Zito seems to have discovered a dominance over the St. Louis Cardinals recently.The last time Zito took the mound against St. Louis, the San Francisco Giants were in dire straights. Giants fans will remember that game.  It was game five of the 2012 National League Championship Series against the Cardinals where the Giants found themselves trailing St. Louis three games to one. On the road for game five, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Cardinals would beat up on the Giants' lefty who had received so much criticism after signing a seven-year, $126 million contract in 2007.  The Cardinals were the hot team.  The Giants were not.Yet Zito's performance during game five was nothing short of incredible.  He pitched 7.2 innings of shutout baseball against the Cardinals and even contributed at the plate (mercurynews.com).  The Giants then soared after the must-win game, eventually going on to defeat St. Louis ...

In the coming weeks, one of the most impactful and controversial classes for the Hall of Fame will have judgment passed on them—at least for their first year of eligibility. One of those on the list is all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, whose career, despite being acquitted of any wrongdoing in a court of law, will forever be tied to the steroid era.Bonds is certainly a huge part of the San Francisco Giants history and although not being part of the teams' two recent (and only) World Series titles, his name and his actions still set off widespread debate amongst Bay Area faithful.Should he get in, should he not.An election to the Hall would also benefit the Giants' brand, who could use that justification for even more business gains in an area where baseball is really rivaled only by the success of the 49ers in popularity. Will the Giants ...

Monday, Fox Sports MLB writer Ken Rosenthal wrote a piece that described the Oakland Athletics as a “revolving door of misfits.” He also used a couple other not so inviting words to describe A's general manager Billy Beane’s highly-performing team.  From Rosenthal: If the “Moneyball” A’s were, in the words of author Michael Lewis, baseball’s answer to the island of misfit toys, what the heck is this bunch? An archipelago of All-American rejects, plus one Cuban defector? Misfit toys? Rejects? Cuban Defector? Come on!Way to take an inspiring team that has defied expectations and rip it to shreds. This was my initial reaction of course. But with a few deep breaths and a second read of Rosenthal’s article revealed subtle expression of how Oakland is beautiful for the game of baseball. Spot on, led by Beane and manager Bob Melvin, this resolute cast of rookies and journeymen has truly been ...

The San Francisco Giants have turned the page and started their "new season" in San Diego with a splash.  (The Giants took the first game 10-1 without Cabrera.)   But the Giants still have some things to prove to the baseball world; they need to show that they can still win games without anyone cheating.  Of course, the Giants are leading all of baseball in scoring on the road. No Melk, no juice, just a lot of sweat and determination.  Here are the players who can still make the difference; guys who can still win a championship.  It's time for the fans to leave Melky in the rear-view mirror and focus on the positive aspects of the franchise.Here they are:Begin Slideshow

Buster Posey has been a grinder for the San Francisco Giants this season, and a player who deserves the National League MVP Award.Since he broke into the big leagues in 2010, where he batted .305/.357/.505 and ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award, Posey has been an instrumental part of the Giants lineup.Not only does he call a great game, but he brings a youthful energy to the squad, an energy that's hard to maintain.Buster Posey is hands down the most important player on a Giants squad inches ahead in the N.L. West pennant race. Why? Because he's their backbone.Before the enthusiasm Bryce Harper and Mike Trout brought to the game, Posey showed the world he's able to carry a World Series team on his back. His presence on the diamond is electric, so it's not a shocker San Francisco missed the postseason last year after losing Posey 45 games ...

Tim Lincecum is sporting a 3-10 record and a 6.42 ERA going into his first start after the All-Star break. Something has to change, and it has to change now. Of the 18 games that Lincecum has started, the Giants have only won four. Substitute in a mediocre pitcher who wins maybe half of those 18 games, and the Giants would be 52-35 and have a solid couple-game lead in the NL West. These numbers are shocking and not something you would expect from a two-time Cy Young Award winner who is still only 28 years old. They are horrendous, terrible, awful—I mean, you pick the adjective and it fits Lincecum's wretched numbers and performance. There is no place for someone who is doing so badly on one of the best pitching rotations. Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong are some of the best pitchers in baseball. Each one ...

Madison Bumgarner (11-5) opened up the second half of the season for the San Francisco Giants on Friday night with a solid performance, holding the Houston Astros to just one run over seven innings while striking out five in the Giants' 5-1 win.  In command from the beginning, Bumgarner had a one-hit shutout through six. With Chris Snyder up and two out in the seventh, Bumgarner made his only mistake of the night.  On a 3-1 count, Bumgarner threw a fastball that caught too much of the plate. The Astros catcher turned on it and drove a towering home run over the left field wall.  That was one of two hits Bumgarner would surrender and the only run as he lowered his ERA to 3.15. The 22-year-old earned his 11th win of the year and has now won 15 of his last 18 starts at AT&T Park ...