Something special is happening in Oakland

OAKLAND -- The A's are no longer a losing team. It doesn't just look and feel that way. The record shows it. At 42-42 the club has reached .500 for the first time since May 22 -- when coincidentally they were 22-22. It is a pretty impressive mark when considering how this team was dismissed altogether by most baseball pundits in the offseason. After trading All-Stars Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey, even the most optimistic of fans were crying doom and gloom.Reaching .500 is no milestone. A's manager Bob Melvin has made that point very clear. Yet, on July 7, three games past the official half-way point of the season, it has to be acknowledged. This is a team that was expected to fail. They still have the opportunity to do so in the second half, but something feels different about this team.How many times have you heard about an A's player reaching a record dating back to "at least 1918" this season? Bartolo Colon conjured up memories of yesteryear when he threw 38-straight strikes against the Angels on April 19. Ryan Cook threw 23 13 scoreless innings to open the season. As far as anyone can remember, no pitcher on a team's Opening Day roster has done that since -- you guessed it 1918. Jarrod Parker has allowed one earned run or less in 10 of his first 14 starts -- the last time that happened You already know the answer. Hint: (1918)The A's starting pitchers have a 3.66 ERA, which is the best in the American League. The pitching staff as a whole has a 3.39 ERA, which is still the best in the AL. A's starting pitchers have allowed one run or fewer in each of the last seven games, a record dating back to -- no, not 1918 -- but 1966. Offensively the A's are getting it done as well. The A's hitters have homered in their last 16 games. They already have seven walk-off hits this season. (They had four in 2011.) They just matched a season-high-tying five-game winning streak. And the team is 20-12 since ending their nine-game losing streak on June 2. The national media hasn't noticed yet, but the A's are silently becoming a threat again. At the very least, they are the most entertaining team to don the white cleats since 2006. They may not be ready to make noise in the postseason, but with a second Wild Card spot this year, anything could happen. They are just 3.5 games behind the Angels and Orioles in the AL Wild Card standings. Let everyone overlook what is happening in Oakland. The element of surprise suits the A's almost as nice as kelly green, fort knox gold and wedding gown white.