The A's continue their roll. 13-4 over the Indians. Two home runs from Eric Chavez. Barry Zito is finally over .500.
But I want to talk about one number right now. .301.
It's the batting average for two of the A's absolute stars right now. Mark Ellis and Dan Johnson. Both have mostly been near the bottom of the order for the majority of their time in the lineup. But they have both been crucial cogs to the A's success.
Mark Ellis is the story of the year as far as the A's are concerned. He had an injury that could've possibly forced him to retire way too prematurely. Yet, this guy worked himself to a point where he was going to produce. He's one of those players where even if you aren't an A's fan, you have to root for him. Ellis is batting .347 in July and has been his usual stellar defensive self. He's given Macha no choice but to keep Marco Scutaro on the bench.
Dan Johnson probably would've spent most of the year at Triple-A had Erubiel Durazo not injured himself. But DJ has come up and exceeded even the most optimistic A's fan's expectations. He has a 1.031 OPS in July and has six home runs. If he can continue to perform at a high level, people will have to start mentioning his name in the rookie of the year discussion. He's obviously at a disadvantage because of the games played factor, but DJ has been everything the A's could've hoped for.
But with two under-the-radar players hitting .301, the A's have been able to just continue rollin' right along.
Get on board and enjoy the ride.
