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During the past few weeks as the world of Major League Baseball was filled with nail-biting owners, angry players, and fed up fans, the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants have been quietly gaining ground on their competitors.

The Oakland A's have been on a rampage, claiming 19 straight victories as of September 3rd. These wins have helped the Athletics push their California rival Anaheim Angels out of first.

Manager Art Howe explains that most of the praise for the recent surge should be directed toward the mound, "With the kind of pitching we're getting, it doesn't take a whole lot of offense," Howe said. "It feels good to play without thinking about a strike. This is what it's supposed to be about. We've finally got people talking baseball again."

While fans all over the country may be disavowing any interest in the sport anymore, the less than impressive following of A's fans in the Bay Area are intently watching what many scouts say is a team on the rise.

The last team to win 18 straight games was the 1953 New York Yankees who had a team batting average of .273 and a team ERA of 3.20. At the current point of the season, the Athletics are batting .260 with an ERA of 3.66. So, maybe the A's do not quite compare to the '53 Yankees, but there is still much hope for the A's against the '02 Yankees.

This year's Yankee squad currently finds themselves two games behind the A's in the race for the best record in the Major Leagues. The A's, who have played the Yankees nine times this year, have lost five of those games. Many fans and experts believe that if the A's keep their current surge alive we may very well see these teams fighting for a World Series spot in the winter.

The A's streak is not the only streak alive in baseball. Right across the San Francisco Bay, in a downtown ballpark, on the shoulders of the 600-homerun club's newest member, the San Francisco Giants are coming off a seven-game winning streak. The streak, which ended Sunday night with a loss to Arizona, saw the Giants defeat aces Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling on back-to-back nights. The streak ended with a late ninth-inning rally against Giant closer Robb Nen who has registered 34 saves on the year with only 4 blown saves.

Speaking of streaks, another streak is very well and alive in baseball. However, this streak is not a West Coast thing, it is on the East Coast. While the A's have won 19 straight, the New York Mets have dropped 14 straight decisions. "It is demoralizing," said catcher Mike Piazza. "Everyone has had losing streaks, everyone has had slumps. But this is uncharted waters for me. I'm a little bit in shock."

There will be plenty of time to let the shock wear off because the Mets have hit rock bottom in the NL East, and are not going anywhere soon. With a 61-73 record as of September 3rd, they found themselves 24.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. With only about 20-some games left in the 2002 season, the only hope this club has is for next year.

With streaks alive and well (or not so "well") and an upcoming postseason, Major League Baseball will attempt to regain some of its fan base in hopes to keep the sport America's Pastime for many years to come.

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