Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
What the Oakland Athletics have done over the past couple of months has proven that they are good enough to beat anyone in the game of Major League Baseball. They are good enough to beat the Texas Rangers and good enough to beat the Boston Red Sox. They are also plenty talented enough to beat those teams on the road. With a loss to the Seattle Mariners Saturday the Athletics took themselves out of the race for home field advantage. So, who in the world cares?
For the majority of teams in MLB the road isn’t that big of a deal. As a matter of fact some players are actually able to focus more on the game itself when they are on the road. The A’s have a winning record on the road second only to the Red Sox road record by one game. If they are going to win a playoff series, home field will not matter. If they are going to lose one, it also won’t matter.
The idea that home field matters to most teams in baseball is way overblown anyway. In a five game series each team is guaranteed a game or two in their home park. Even if they are down two going back home in a best of five, they will have the games at home to pull even if it actually matters. Really there is one team that it matters more for than any other and they are not even in the American League. Home field advantage or not, the Athletics will be a handful for anyone they face.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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