The biggest surprise of this year’s baseball season is the Oakland Athletics. Theses guys have continued to turn their heads to everyone who’s expecting them to do horrible this season. Currently, the team is tied with the Angles for the best record in the American League and has no signs of fading.

Because of their success thus far the A’s ran a promotion for the fans to increase attendance to the home games:

One dollar would be shaved off plaza level ticket prices to Sunday’s game for every hit the A’s collected Thursday.

The 2,500 plaza level tickets available as of Thursday were going for $24. Factor in the A’s 20 hits, and those seats are going for the bargain price of $4. The 20 hits were the most for the A’s since they banged out 24 on June 26, 2005 against the Giants.

Even with this loss of revenue for the team, their lack of money has never stopped them from winning in the past. One thing they will gain from this is the support that they need to keep this streak going. This year I’m rooting for the underdog and that underdog is now the dog on top!

So much for chalk. After Sunday’s action, these were the six MLB division leaders, with their won-loss records:

AL East: Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles (7-5)
AL Central: Chicago White Sox (7-4)
AL West: Oakland Athletics (8-5)
NL East: Florida Marlins (7-5)
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (9-4)
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks (9-3)

Just like we predicted, right? Never mind that the Orioles were 50-1 at press time to win their division. How about the Sox (6-1), the Cards (13-2), the A’s (9-1) and the Marlins (25-1)? The only division favorite on the good foot right now is Arizona at 5-4 odds.

If you leave out the Blue Jays (0.9 units in the black at press time), these are the six most profitable teams in the majors, raking in well over 20 units in profit for anyone brave enough to bet on this dubious assortment. Just beware of the small sample size before breaking open your piggy bank.

Major League Baseball can be forgiven for being one of the most anal sports organizations on the planet. Baseball is a numbers game, after all, and makes billions of dollars off the obsession over keeping score. However dickish the Roger Maris home-run asterisk was, it did have some statistical merit.
The career home-run record set by Barry Bonds is more problematic. Any talk of putting an asterisk next to his 762 (and counting) homers, or to wipe them from the record books altogether, is purely a moral issue. And to do so requires first and foremost indisputable proof that Bonds broke the MLB rules regarding steroid use.
Track and field athletes like Marion Jones have had career achievements officially rendered null and void because of steroids, so there is precedent for MLB officials to do the same with Bonds. But their best hope for redemption is if Alex Rodriguez breaks the record and stays out of trouble.

As expected, the Mitchell Report has turned Major League Baseball on its ear. Dozens of players have been implicated in steroid use, from big-league sluggers to journeyman scrubs.

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, we humbly suggest these four athletes, if they haven’t done so already, join the parade and grab a bottle of “Vitamin B-12.”

Brandan Wright, Golden State Warriors: Generously listed at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds. Needs significantly more bulk to play the post in the NBA.

Martin Biron, Philadelphia Flyers: Those rules limiting the size of goalie equipment aren’t helping this 6-foot-3, 163-pound beanpole.

Garrett Wolfe, Chicago Bears: Get this man some HGH. Listed at 5-foot-7 and 186 pounds, the rookie RB has had trouble staying healthy on the football field – go figure.

Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks: If you want to extend your career another few years, think Roger Clemens. Plus, imagine the fastball you could throw at 6-foot-10 and bigger than your current 231 pounds.