Nevius: Time to start acknowledging A's accomplishments

It is safe to say this is not the mindset Bay Area baseball fans expected to have for the second half of the season.

Earlier, the punchless Giants, with their revolving-door roster, couldn't make anything happen.

And the A's, although showing signs of life at the All-Star break, stumbled out of the gate 19-25 and looked to have bullpen problems.

But now, with both teams surging like Secretariat, fans are not only engaged and invested, both teams are openly throwing out the P-word - no, not patience - playoffs.

The Giants, of course, are an astonishment. You will probably hear players bemoaning how “a lot of people wrote us off,” but c'mon, who wouldn't have? They couldn't hit and pitchers were cycling in and out like it was the Tour de France.

And suddenly, while many of us were still trying to figure out which one was Austin Slater and which was Tyler Austin, Bruce Bochy's bunch lumbered into a run. And you have to admit, a lot of it has been fueled by those guys we'd never heard of when they landed on the roster.

They've got a long way to go, but ... do you believe in Stephen Vogt?

Meanwhile, in any other universe, or baseball market, the swingin' A's would be a breakout stars. They are wildly entertaining, unapologetic home run bat-flippers (and they hit a lot of them, so get used to it) and seem to be having tons of fun.

The Athletics may be the most underappreciated franchise in major league sports. Of course, it doesn't help when you play in a mausoleum.

The fans have still not shown up, but rather than mope about it, the players seem to have adopted the attitude of, “Screw it, we're just gonna play great ball and let everybody deal with it.”

Matt Chapman is a legitimate national star in the making. He's already in the MVP conversation, and seems a little bewildered by people asking if he expected to be this good in just his second full year. Hell yes he did.

“He's made for this,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It's not a surprise.”

He's also happy to speak up. Melvin described him as “just a huge personality” and that he “sometimes speaks before he thinks.”

Which, Melvin quickly added, are “all compliments.”

What I noticed was the music playing in the clubhouse before a game last week. It stopped when Chapman walked over and unplugged his smartphone.

When you're the clubhouse DJ, you're feeling pretty good about yourself.

Meanwhile, center fielder Ramon Laureano, who is just 25 and in his first full year in the big leagues, is averaging roughly one amazing play every three innings.

Last Wednesday, Laureano: (1) unleashed a no-hop thunderbolt of a throw from near the center-field warning track to third; (2) reached over the fence to yank back a home run in the top of the eighth; and (3) came up in the bottom of the inning and homered to dead center.

Nice game, kid. You may catch on.

And I continue to enjoy the likes of Cal's Mark Canha, who is perfectly willing to be called a serious foodie. Posting under his Instagram handle @bigleaguefoodie, Canha gives you plenty of shots of restaurants he's visited.

Still, it was amusing when a throw-out-the-first-pitch opportunity brought Dominique Crenn, the three-Michelin-star San Francisco chef, to Oakland. Canha is the first to admit he went all fanboy.

“Chef Crenn is a rockstar; an amazing chef and person who I admire greatly,” Canha wrote in his post. (Canha also mentioned Crenn's courageous battle with cancer.)

When the team was asked if anyone would like to catch the ceremonial pitch, Canha was incredulous.

“I wanted to do it, big-time,” he said. “Why wouldn't I want to meet one of the best chefs in the world?”

That's all fun, but meanwhile baseball is about to get serious here in the cities by the Bay.

Suddenly putting hardwood to horsehide, the Giants surely come off the road swaggering. But they haven't played well at home, and the cry of “that'll be a home run next year” is slight solace. But you never know.

Meanwhile, the A's will be undergoing a reality check. They are on the road to play division leaders Minnesota and Houston, followed by home games with plus-.500 teams Texas and Milwaukee.

It could be a season-defining test. They should have some confidence, though, because this is remarkably similar to the late run last year when they won 97 and made the wild-card game. Canha, who hit a career-first two home runs in one game last week, doesn't think they'll get rattled.

“Just try not to grip the wheel too hard,” he said. “It's all confidence.”

And when you watch the A's swinging for the fences, flipping bats and throwing leather, it is hard to believe this team isn't bound for something bigger than last year's one-game playoff loss.

They can all feel it, including Melvin.

“You know what I'm really good at?” he asked. “Giving guys pats on the back.”

Well, then, let's order up back pats for everyone. Right now the A's and Giants are so hot, they could win with Chef Crenn pitching.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cw.nevius@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter: @cwnevius