Their A game!

One of this year's big stories in sports is the season the Oakland A's are having. They are currently ranked 2nd in the American League West and tied for first in the Wild Card race with the Baltimore Orioles. While they are technically not yet in the playoffs, they are in a good spot and there is no indication that they will fall off.

But is is the way they reached their current spot that is so amazing: The A's are playing with rookie starters (5 at one point), they have really no major names on their roster and their lineup does not scare anyone in the American League. AND they are doing it with Major League's second lowest payroll at $ 55,372,500. This is substantially lower than what the Texans spend ($ 120,510,974), who they trail by just 4 games in the AL West. The A's are ranked 5th in the majors in pitching with a team ERA of 3.50. They rank 9th in terms of home runs with 172. So they have it all: pitching and power. And they are doing it while they should actually be rebuilding.

The A's manager Bob Melvin seems to be doing a lot right. But the whole organization from top to bottom does a perfect job. In sport economics the final word on the causal relationship between team payrolls and success has not yet been said. The A's once again show that maybe it is not money you need to win.