We’re back with the Oakland Futility Watch, and the Athletics had another rough week, winning just once while losing a one-run game and a two-run game where the pitching staff actually did pretty well. It’s surprising to see two rookies on the A’s offense playing great—designated hitter Brent Rooker has 11 home runs, and centerfielder Esteury Ruiz has 24 stolen bases—but overall, the team just doesn’t seem to be in sync. When the pitching is there? The hitting is not.

A lot of this comes down to inexperience and youth, and that’s the job of Manager Mark Kotsay this season: to get this roster to improve enough for the team’s impending move to Las Vegas in 2025 (if not earlier). Right now, he is posting a minus-1 PPP mark, so there is some improvement to be had from the dugout leadership itself if the A’s want to boost their ugly .208 winning percentage. Remember, the number to beat is .235 for the season, so there’s work to be done.

Here are some notable updates to key numbers for Oakland right now:

  • The A’s are 5-20 at home and 5-18 on the road;
  • After just 5 victories in April, Oakland already has 4 wins in May with another nine days to go;
  • The A’s are now 3-4 in extra innings and 7-8 in one-run games;
  • The big issue is the blowout losses (five-plus runs), as Oakland has 15 of those—and absolutely zero blowout wins;
  • The minus-168 run differential is more than twice as bad as the next-worst team (Kansas City, minus-71);
  • The A’s have given up double-digit runs 15 times already this season, while scoring that much just 3 times.

The superlatives list could go on, but we won’t bore you. The A’s can get better, and we suspect they will, but we still don’t see them winning 40 games this season. To beat that futility record, Oakland needs to get to 39 victories. It’s going to be a close race to the end.