Oakland A’s fans remain confident entering September

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. A’s fans, click HERE to learn more and join FanPulse.

A’s fans were asked last week if they have confidence in the direction of the team, and the result was a resounding “Yes!” The final tally was 87% approval, which is down a few ticks from the previous week but still high.

When this survey was taken on Monday, the A’s had just finished losing two frustrating, heartbreaking games to the Giants. We shan’t talk more about those debacles, but they probably help explain why the confidence level dipped a bit this time. Since then, Oakland won three of four from the lowly Royals, and split the first two in New York against the Yankees. They have one more in the Bronx on Sunday before returning home.

Six other teams received stronger support from their fans than the A’s did: the Braves (99%), Astros (98%), Padres (93%), Twins (92%), Giants (88%), and Nationals (88%). It’s weird to see the Giants finish ahead of Oakland, but don’t worry, after fluking into a couple of dramatic wins at the Coliseum they then proceeded to lose three of their next four this week. The Braves, Astros, and Twins all lead their divisions, the Nats lead the NL Wild Card, and Padres fans support the team’s rebuild.

In the other weekly question, manager Bob Melvin continued his unwavering fan support. He notched a 93% approval rating, which is down two points from last time but marks his 10th straight week above 90. Only Houston’s A.J. Hinch has a longer streak of ratings over 90%, having stayed there all year with his juggernaut superteam.

As for the national question, this time it asked about bunting to break up a perfect game. Fans mostly think it’s OK to do, and I tend to agree. I’d probably be miffed if it happened to my team but totally fine with it if my team did it to avoid being on the wrong side of history. And anyway, my team has Matt Chapman patrolling against bunts, so bring it on.