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So, the Oakland A's have won 20 games in a row. Twenty. Think about that a minute:
That's as many wins in a row as the Mets have since the All-Star break -- in seven weeks.
That's more than twice as many games won in a row as the Devil Rays have won series all season (nine).
That's a longer winning streak than the longest winning streaks this year by the Yankees (7), Twins (6) and Dodgers (5) combined.
In another sector of the baseball universe, the Brewers -- a team whose GM, Dean Taylor, blamed "the system" in April when he fired his manager -- have gone more than 700 straight games (710, through Wednesday) without winning more than five games in a row. Meanwhile, the A's -- a team that started the year with a payroll $10 million lower than the Brewers -- have strung together four consecutive five-game winning streaks.
The Brewers, by the way, are one of three teams that haven't had a winning streak in the 2000s even about one-third as long as Oakland's (i.e., none of even six games). The others are the Marlins and Blue Jays.
It isn't often you see a winning streak like this in any sport, you understand. It's never been done by a professional hockey or football team. There are three NBA teams which have done so -- the 1971-72 Lakers (33 straight), the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks (20) and the old 1949 Washington Capitals (20).
Then there is Oakland's place in payroll trivia: Their top four starters -- Tim Hudson ($875,000), Mark Mulder ($800,000), Barry Zito ($295,000) and Cory Lidle ($2.37 million) -- make less money combined (about $4.3 million) than Sterling Hitchcock gets from the Yankees ($4.9 million) to be a mop-up man.
Even with the acquisition of a $6.3-million second baseman, Ray Durham, Oakland's most frequent starting infield -- Eric Chavez ($2.125 million), Miguel Tejada ($3.625 million), Durham ($6.3 million) and Scott Hatteberg ($900,000) -- makes less money combined ($13.05 million) than Derek Jeter ($14.6 million).
And even with the pickup of $1.5-million situational left-hander Ricardo Rincon, Oakland's four most-used relief pitchers -- Billy Koch ($2.243 million), Jim Mecir ($2.367 million), Rincon ($1.5 million) and Chad Bradford ($235,000) -- make less money ($6.385 million) than Mariano Rivera ($9.45 million).
But this streak is compelling for more than just its money implications. Over those 20 games, the A's trailed for 10 innings in three weeks. The Mets, on the other hand, went 43 consecutive innings during their 15-game home losing streak without ever holding a lead at the end of any inning.
The A's also had a 2.17 ERA in August. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the lowest ERA by any AL team in any month (of at least 15 games played) in more than two decades -- since the '81 Yankees had a 1.92 ERA in August (a month shrunken, incidentally, by a players' strike).
And of course, these stretch-drive explosions are nothing new for this group. Over the last two years, through Wednesday, the A's are 73-15 after Aug. 1. That's a ridiculous .830 winning percentage -- which would translate, over a 162-game season -- into a record of (gulp) 135-27.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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