Link Dump 6/19: I heart this team

If you missed Saturday's game, check out gotgreen's  pictures of the dugout in the bottom of the 17th.

College-like attitude visible with A's the more they win:

There are plenty of reasons why the A's were able to bounce back this month after yet another slow start.

You've got to put their upbeat, college-style attitude on the list. No, not at the top, where top-notch pitching, hitting and fielding belong. But certainly among the leaders.

Well...what else is on that list?

THE OTHER DUGOUT

Fun.

Lost somewhere in the middle of the Dodgers' 17-inning marathon with the A's on Saturday night was a veteran showing up a rookie.

In the eighth inning of the game that ended with Jae Seo walking in the winning run, second baseman Jeff Kent, a likely Hall of Famer, was on first base with rookie outfielder Andre Ethier at bat.

Kent tried to steal second. He had a good jump, and it looked as if he would easily be safe. But Ethier swung at the pitch, lofting a lazy fly ball into left field.

Kent watched the ball sail into the air -- it was obvious that it would be caught by Nick Swisher -- and, instead of retreating to first base, he got to second and took his helmet off as the ball was caught. Swisher threw to first for the double play.

Kent was later seen jawing at Ethier in the dugout. When asked if he thought Kent could have made it back, Ethier offered this: "It's a question you don't even need to ask," he said. "It's at his discretion if he wants to or not."

Flores was called up yesterday, and poor Jeremy Brown was sent back down. Also, Duke will pitch in Sacramento tonight. Woohoo!

And the A's have been playing so well lately, I failed to notice this: (scroll down)

Matt Kemp's stolen base in the second inning was the 11th straight time a runner had been successful against A's catcher Jason Kendall. After starting the year by throwing out eight of the first 14 attempted thieves, Kendall has caught just two of the last 23.