It was easy to think that the sky was falling. The Oakland A’s were starting to fade back to the pack, with the Mariners closing rapidly for a postseason berth. Even worse, the Astros had roared ahead in the standings, putting a decent amount of separation between the two teams for the divisional lead.
Although it seemed to be time to start worrying, the A’s certainly did not lose faith. In fact, Chris Bassitt had sent out a reminder to everyone that this was about the time of year that the A’s turn the corner. He is not letting anyone forget either.
Aging well… https://t.co/fyJzK0hrjI
— Chris Bassitt (@C_Bass419) August 12, 2021
Chris Bassitt reminds us all of the Oakland A’s tendencies
The A’s have followed the same pattern for years. They start slowly, struggling to find their way. Then, they tend to catch fire in the second half of the season, racing into the postseason. Their slump came in the middle of the year this season, but they still had time to catch fire as always.
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That has been the case since Bassitt’s tweet on July 28. The A’s bolstered their roster in that time, adding Starling Marte, Yan Gomes, and Josh Harrison to improve the lineup. Those moves have worked, leading to one of the A’s patented second half surges as they are 10-2 since he sent that tweet.
Bassitt has done his part as well. He started the A’s 17-0 pasting of the Indians on Thursday, firing six shutout innings while allowing three hits and two walks, striking out six. The offense has been on fire, with their explosion against Cleveland just the icing on the cake. It is time for the run to the playoffs.
This should not be a surprise for anyone that follows the A’s. This run through the second half of the season is what they do. They are starting to distance themselves from the pack in the Wild Card chase, and have closed in on the Astros for the division. That panic button is taped off by now.
Chris Bassitt said that the Oakland A’s would be fine and that we were in for a fun couple of months. It turns out that he has been correct.