OAKLAND -- Down the stretch they come, and with 19 games remaining it's a two-horse race for AL Manager of the Year between the A's Bob Melvin and the Orioles' Buck Showalter.
Each has his merits, and while Showalter might be the more likely to acknowledge them, Melvin seems to have the inside track.
Written off at the beginning of the season, the A's and their 55 million team payroll (second lowest in the majors) are doing everything right and applying serious pressure on teams spending three and four times the cash. Prognosticators had the A's tabbed for 70 wins...maybe. The A's earned their 70th win on Aug. 27 in the midst of a nine-game winning streak that made them serious 2012 playoff contenders.
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What is Melvin doing in Oakland? According to his players, it's what he isn't doing.
"He lets us be ourselves," Travis Blackley said.
"He lets us play our own game and keep it pretty loose," Grant Balfour said. "Pretty relaxed clubhouse, and that's a good thing, I think."
Balfour nailed it. The clubhouse atmosphere in Oakland more closely resembles a costume party with music, Spider-Man outfits, WWE belts, pies, games and friendly ribbing. And it's working.
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Ever the team player, Melvin is quick to acknowledge the people around him for the team's success. He credited the front office for acquiring the pieces. He thanked hitting instructor Chili Davis and pitching coach Curt Young for allowing him to take the holistic approach to coaching. And, of course, he gave it up for his players.
"It's easy with this group here," Melvin said. "They allow me to allow them to be themselves because it's a group that, we've never had a challenge as far as preparing. They've always prepared very well. They've been very receptive to a lot of the moves and the platooning. You try to be communicative about that, but they've accepted it very well.
"On top of that, we got some very talented players here. It's been easy for me, they have made it easy for me just by the way they go about their business."
Breeding a winning culture in a clubhouse most saw on a street corner with a "free" sign is no easy feat, but it's something Melvin feels right at home doing.
In 2006 the Arizona Diamondbacks went 76-86 and finished 12 games out in the NL West. A year later, Bob Melvin's D'backs won 90 games and finished first in the NL West.
Melvin won NL Manager of the Year that year and the D'backs season ended in the NLCS. Only time will tell how the A's will finish their season in 2012, but Melvin is making a serious bid to become a two-time winner.
"Gotta go with Bob, right?" Balfour said. "Gotta stick with Bob. Manager of the year."
He admittedly spoke with a bias, but he might not have been wrong.