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The Oakland As have the best record in the American League at 13-5 and are second only to Milwaukee by a half-game for best record in the Majors. Fernandinho Manchester City Jersey . This organizations success, at times, defies logic. They play in the most in-need-of-repair stadium in the Majors and traditionally draw in the bottom third, if not worse, in the Majors. Yet, here they are at 13-5 atop the American League West after starting last season at 12-5 en route to a 96-win season. There were a couple of things that caught my attention about the As 4-1 victory over Houston. First, it was the starting pitcher. Jesse Chavez was actually with the Blue Jays back in 2012 as a reliever. He didnt see much action with a team that had three starters - Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek - down with injuries. Later that year, the Jays lost the then 28-year-old on a waiver claim by Oakland. Last season, he worked in the As pen as a reliever. Now the As, thanks in part to injuries, have given the 30-year-old right hander the chance to start. So far, it looks as though the As have struck gold. Chavez has made four starts and in doing so, became the first starter in franchise history to go at least six innings in his first four outings and give up one or fewer runs in each. Sunday, he picked up his first Major League victory as a starter and has solidified his spot in the Oakland rotation. The other thing I noticed is the As lineup. Of the 11 players who appeared in that 4-1 victory over Houston, only one was actually signed and developed by Oakland. That was budding Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes, who defected in 2011 and signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the As in February of 2012. All the rest were picked up in trades - many descript or on waiver claims or lower-tier free agents. Take Daric Barton, who came on late in the game to play first, but can also catch. He was picked up in a trade with St. Louis, along with infielder Kiko Calero and right hander Dan Haren, for then ace lefty Mark Mulder, who ultimately blew out his shoulder with the Redbirds, sat out a few years and ultimately had to abandon a comeback this spring. Barton is still contributing to the As and Haren is still going strong elsewhere. Josh Donaldson failed as a catcher in the Cubs organization and with the As. Then they made him into a third baseman and hes turned into a star. The As, with a limited payroll, just keep finding ways. If you roll back the clock to the year 2000 and then go over the As records over the following 14 seasons, theyve had nine winning seasons, four losing seasons and one .500 season. In fact, they had five seasons in a row between 2007 and 2011 where they only reached .500 once. But their successes have been mighty; two seasons with over 100 victories and seven more with at least 91. In 14 years, the As have finished first in the AL West six times. They have made the postseason eight times. Grant you, they have only won one division series and were defeated in the only ALCS they made it to. But I dont think I have to remind you there have been plenty of other teams that havent come close to making the postseason over that 14 year span, teams that have a lot more money to spend and better venues to play in. The other amazing thing about the As is their attendance. If you go back to when they were the Athletics in Philadelphia, where they resided for 54 years, the Athletics never broke one million in attendance once. During their 13 seasons in Kansas City, the As only surpassed one million twice, while in 46 years in Oakland, they have only bettered the two million mark, which is generally conceded to be the break-even point, 11 times. How good have they been over the last 14 years? Well collectively, they have finished 204 games above .500. The only two teams in the American League that have been head and shoulders better than them are the Yankees at 390 games over .500 with two World Series wins and two losses, and Boston at 265 games over .500 with three World Series triumphs. Billy Beane and Moneyball may have been overrated to a degree, but the As have proven to be one of the great franchises in the game against all odds. The Blue Jays have a significant homestand starting up Tuesday night. Baltimore comes to town for three followed by Boston for three. At 10-9, the Jays are one game ahead of the Orioles and Bosox. The Jays starting rotation will have to deliver more innings over these next six games. Last turn through the starting five, lefty Mark Buehrle was the only one able to get through the sixth and then beyond. The Jays have a bit of a psychological edge in both these series. The Orioles will be coming off an emotional Patriots Day game in Boston Monday morning and a draining series against the Bosox. Then Boston goes from that series to a three gamer with the Yankees. Both the Os and the Red Sox could be a little battle worn by the time they hit Toronto. Everybody talks about the Jays someday regretting trading Noah Syndergaard to the Mets. Well Henderson Alvarez is already in the Majors and looking dominant at times with the Miami Marlins. Saturday at home, he hit 96 MPH on the radar gun and pitched a complete game two-hitter, as the Marlins shut out Seattle 7-0. He faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum. It was Alvarezs first victory since he no-hit the Tigers on the final day of last season. He is 1-2 this season with a 2.66 ERA. Giants righty Tim Hudson is joining some exclusive company. He set a Giants record over the weekend by throwing 30 innings without issuing a single walk. He has also come close to a Major League mark by starting a season with four games of at least seven innings without walking a single batter. A gentleman by the name of "Tiny" Bonham also did that in 1944, according to ESPN, and Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander had a six game run in 1923. We mentioned right hander Dan Haren a little earlier in connection with the As. Well, hes trying to reboot his career with the Dodgers. His control has been impeccable in the early going. He has 20 strikeouts and just two walks. Of all active pitchers, Dan Haren has the top strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.09 to one. Leroy Sane Manchester City Jersey . That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. Oleksandr Zinchenko Manchester City Jersey . -- Jake Peavy arrived at Bostons spring training complex on Monday with a large white bandage covering his left index finger, the result of a weekend accident. http://www.authenticmanchestercityshop.com/Authentic-Luke-Bolton-Manchester-City-Jersey/ . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings might be the NHLs best defensive team, and they hadnt blown a two-goal lead in a loss in nearly a full calendar year. The Toronto Maple Leafs broke down that defence and pulled out an impressive road victory despite nearly running out of goalies along the way. Mason Raymond broke a tie with a short-handed goal early in the third period and the Maple Leafs snapped the Kings eight-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory Thursday night. James Reimer made 31 saves in the final two periods after replacing the injured Jonathan Bernier for the Leafs, who have won four of five. Captain Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson also scored as Toronto beat both Southern California NHL clubs in a four-day span, albeit with a blowout loss at the Shark Tank sandwiched in between. "We need every point that we can possibly get," Toronto coach Randy Carlyle said. "Were in desperation mode as every team is, and we just found a way to gut it out. We gave up a two-goal lead, and we found a way to get a big goal." After the Leafs erased that early 2-0 deficit, Raymond put them ahead with 14:54 to play. Kopitar was stopped by Reimer on a golden scoring chance, and Raymond alertly countered on a 2-on-1 rush with James van Riemsdyk for Raymonds 19th goal. Bernier gave up two goals in the first period of his first game back in Los Angeles against the team that traded him last summer, but then sat out the final two periods with a lower-body injury. Reimer filled in admirably, making a number of stunning saves. "I wouldnt blow it up too big," Reimer said. "I just came in and did my job. Every time you go in is an opportunity." Reimer, who gave up six goals in San Jose, also got up quite slowly in the second period after getting an accidental blow to the head from Jarret Stoll when the goalie dived to stop a puck. Reimer eventually shook it off, but said he "got (his) bell rung." "I was sitting beside Bernier when that happened," said Nazem Kadri, who had two assists. "I told him to take off his pads. I might have to throw them on." Marian Gaborik had an early goal and an assist in his home debut with the Kings, who fell just short of matching the longest winning streeak in franchise history. Philippe Sandler Jersey. Anze Kopitar had a power-play goal and Jonathan Quick stopped 26 shots in his first loss since Feb. 3. After losing nine of 10 in a skid stretching into early February, the Kings won their final game before the Olympic break and hadnt lost since. This loss prevented the Kings from equaling their record nine-game streak in 2010. "Its a stinger every time you lose after a pretty strong road trip," Kopitar said. "We didnt want to start off a homestand with a loss. I dont know how they execute their system, but it seemed like they were skating and playing a tight-checking game. But it was just a case of our game tonight not getting it done." Gaborik still came through in the Slovak goal-scorers fourth game with the club, providing exactly the boost they sought for their sagging offence. Wearing their Forum-blue-and-gold throwback jerseys, the Kings went ahead just 1:57 in when the rebound of Drew Doughtys low shot went straight to Gaborik, who scored his seventh goal of the season. "I think its coming along," Gaborik said of his line with Kopitar and Justin Williams. "We had some chemistry with our line and created some chances, so I think its going the right way." Kopitar then scored a power-play goal on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Doughty, the gold medal-winning Canadian defenceman. Gunnarsson tied it up early in the second with just his second goal in 67 games this season. Bernier was the 11th overall pick in the 2006 draft by Kings general manager Dean Lombardi. He played 62 games for Los Angeles over five NHL seasons, but never managed to beat out Quick, a lower-round pick by a previous regime who eventually became the Kings Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Lombardi traded Bernier to Toronto in a deal for Ben Scrivens -- since traded to Edmonton -- and Matt Frattin, who was sent to Columbus in the deal for Gaborik. Bernier lost 3-1 to the Kings in Toronto in December. NOTES: Mike Richards accidentally shot the puck into teammate Justin Williams face with 3 minutes to play. Williams stayed in the game. ... Toronto scratched C Peter Holland, who has the flu. ... The Kings announced their 100th consecutive sellout at Staples Center since December 2011. ' ' '