OAKLAND -- Unbelievable would be an unfair way to describe the 2012 Oakland Athletics. What they have accomplished even before taking the field against the Texas Rangers with the American League West title on the line has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball. But has the team even exceeded the expectations of their general manager? "We didn't set expectations," Billy Beane said. "We wanted to create a team that had a chance to get better from the first day forward. That was the expectation we set." They may not have started strong, but they have definitely done just that. Oakland was 13 games behind the Rangers on June 30. Since then they have gone a Major League-leading 56-26 and are a season-high 25 games over .500. The run the A's are on has gathered the attention of the national media, the fans, and has even recaptured the attention of Hollywood after the Moneyball buzz. If the Oakland A's go all the way this yet Pitt and I better get rings. Jonah Hill (@JonahHill) October 2, 2012Beane responded to Hill when speaking with select members of the media during the A's closed door meeting. "It would be nice to be able to make that decision," Beane said. "We're a long way from that." It turns out the closed door clubhouse meeting was to go over travel scenarios. That's what we are being told at least. The A's aren't exactly in need of a pep talk anyways. They are playing loose, and having fun. "It's the way that we've played all year," Brandon Inge said. "We don't change a thing we do. It doesn't matter what situation we are in." "We're going to go out there and have fun, play loose and go out there and lay it all out there," George Kottaras said. "We're just going to have fun with it that's what it's all about." With heaps of pressure packed on the A's, uncertainties about travel scenarios, and the dangerous defending American League Champions playing with their backs against the wall, manager Bob Melvin simplified matters as he usually does. "I know that if we win today, we win today," Melvin said, drawing laughs from the assembled media. Simple enough.
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