Oakland A’s fan confidence remains high as August begins

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 84% approval, which is down a few ticks from the previous week but still high.

And really, it’s probably even higher than that now, as fans begin voting today on this week’s edition of the poll. At the time of this 84% vote, the A’s had just been humbled by the Texas teams, dropping a road series against the juggernaut Astros and then splitting four at home against the Rangers. Losing to Houston is understandable even if it’s frustrating, and the Rangers are no slouches themselves, but a 3-4 week is not the result you hope for when you’re in a tight Wild Card race.

Fortunately, things already went better from there. The A’s went 4-1 last week in a pair of interleague series at the Coliseum, against a pair of over-.500 clubs in the Brewers and Cardinals.

Oakland also made a notable move since the last survey, acquiring starter Tanner Roark from the Reds at the July 31 trade deadline. Roark won his A’s debut on Sunday.

Despite representing a drop from the previous week’s 88% confidence, the A’s at 84% still rank seventh among MLB fanbases. They trail three other contenders in the Astros (98), Braves (92), and Twins (92), plus three fan-approved rebuilds by the Marlins (95), Padres (92), and Orioes (90). For context, a full 16 teams polled at 70% or lower, with the Pirates earning a flat 0%, and the Rockies (21), Mets (27), and Phillies (27) also scoring poorly.

In the other weekly question, manager Bob Melvin continued his unwavering fan support. He notched a 94% approval rating, his sixth straight week above 90.

As for the national question, I don’t really get this one. It would make sense on an individual team basis, but lumping them all together into one result doesn’t really seem useful or interesting. And of course the answer is pitching, what else would anyone have expected?