A-Plus in Oakland

"Is it difficult being a ballplayer?"
"No ma'am it's not difficult...if you're a ballplayer."
Napoleon Lajoie 

Billy Beane has finally found a formula to put his Oakland A's reliably back in the playoffs: hit like the Dickens, get lights-out pitching, win bunches of games. 

Why didn't he think of it earlier?

Still on a budget, Beane has assembled a lineup that walks and hits for power and a rotation and bullpen that suppress walks. Beane spent his limited funds on a shutdown bullpen whose six most used pitchers have served up 330 innings at half a run better than league ERA.

On offense, the A's are led by stealth MVP candidate, third baseman Josh Donaldson, whose 27 games consecutive on-base streak has catapulted his OPS 53% above league average. Every starter in the Oakland lineup sports an OPS league average or better, including veteran Coco Crisp, who's achieved his first 20/20 season in one of toughest hitting parks in majors. 

Overall, the A's are fourth in the AL in OPS while playing half their games in O.com Coliseum, accruing most of their damage in the second half of the season. They've led the league in bombs and averaged six runs-a-game since the All-Star break, sparking a spurt that's made up 11.5 games on Texas in September.

Forty-year-old Bartolo Colon (17-6, 2.64) has anchored a strong rotation otherwise composed of hurlers 26 or younger. Thirty-five year-old Grant Balfour leads the league's best pen, with eight of nine regular relievers limiting offenses to fewer runs than league average.

You can't talk about the A+ performance of the A's without mentioning their $62 million payroll. Their three highest paid players combined earn less than Alex Rodriguez, and their star, Donaldson, in only his second season, brings home less than $500 grand.

Beane's A's have been here before, and as he's famously noted, his "@#$%* doesn't work in the playoffs." Last year they extended the narrative another year by losing the Division series in five to Detroit. They may draw the Tigers in the ALDS again this year. We'll see if Beane's @#$%* still stinks.