Goodbye June, you have been kind to me.

SEA 2, OAK 6

The A's have gone 19-8 in June and won seven of the eight series in this month. A team that was once firmly in the AL West cellar is now poised to break back to .500 and overtake the Rangers for second place. That's what a hot month can do to you.

As Haren had a minor hiccup in the second inning allowing back to back solo home runs, I was not concerned about the A's losing. I had a feeling that their pitching was going to give way sooner or later and the A's could come back from behind. However I was afraid of losing the "Guess the Outcome Game" over at AN. In a fit out optimistic euphoria on Sunday I had predicted the starters ERA at 2.00 for the series and today, I was hoping for Haren to last long enough to keep the ERA down. Now I don't look like that big of a fool over there.

The A's refused to lose and won in the end.

Although the LOB numbers remain high, I'm glad the A's are really starting to execute in vital offensive situations. Now it's time for the Mariners to out-hit their opposition only to lose the game. O, how I tired of that in May.

Also, Ichiro was caught stealing second today. But Melhuse was behind the plate today so it wasn't that big of a surprise. However, it is good to see Haren be much more confident in situatons where there are runners on, especially speedsters like Ichiro. Haren got burned in a Tampa Bay series early in the season because the D-Rays stole at will with him on the mound. At the time he took damn near forever to get set on the mound. His rhythym on the mound has improved vastly.

With another Angels loss today the A's are finally under 10 games behind in the AL West. The White Sox are coming and I think I want to go to the game tomorrow.

We'll see what happens.