A's Quietly Having Their Offensive Ways

The two best teams in baseball are both in the bay-area for the first time since 2002. The Oakland A's hold the best record in the A.L. at 39-26, and a 2.5 game lead over the division rival Los Angeles Angels. The A's have gotten stellar performances from their rotation and bullpen this season, but something else has really stuck out to me from this ball club. That is the A's hitting. The A's have batted in great fashion throughout the 2014 season as they lead the majors in runs scored (328), On-Base-Percentage (.334), and Team RBI (310). They also rank 6th in the majors in Slugging Percentage (.410), 3rd in Home Runs (76), and 4th in Total Bases (922). Third Baseman Josh Donaldson and First Baseman Brandon Moss have provided lots of pop in the middle of the A's lineup this season. Donaldson has jacked 17 dingers and has driven in 50 RBI, while Moss has smoked 16 homers and has driven in 53 RBI. Although Donaldson and Moss have proven that they're capable of powering there way through pitchers, they haven't been the on-base machines that Blly Beane has been asking for. Another Weakness in this A's powerhouse lineup is hitting for average. They don't have a qualifying hitter that has a batting average above .280. Their lead off hitter, Coco Crisp owns the best average on their team, and he's only hitting .269 this season. However, the emergence of catchers John Jaso and Derek Norris have provided solid numbers at the plate this season. Even though both players haven't gotten to 150 At-Bats this season, they've combined a hitting line of .288/.388/.473 and have smacked 12 homers and driven in 42 runs. Statistically and physically, the A's are becoming a power hitting team, which has helped paved the way to first place in the American League.