The baseball season is a marathon race with many twists and turns before reaching the finishing line in late September.

The A’s will run the last 34 games of the race without arguably their best pitcher.

Is the season over?

Not by a long shot.

Click below and I’ll tell you why not.

By the time we get this far into the race, a team has already done the heavy lifting required during the season. As of this morning this team has played 128 games, you know if you have the right stuff to get into a position to be a playoff team.

The A’s are tied for the lead in the wild card, they trail Seattle by only three games for the division.

This team doesn’t lose any game easily, if they go down they go down with a fight.

I’ve often said a pitcher shouldn’t get the MVP award because he only appears on the field every five days, a starter 35 games out of 162.

If you win a pennant 24 other players have to contribute along the way.

The A’s have enough to get into the playoffs if:

Tim Hudson pitches well in September,

Barry Zito turns his one nightmare inning into an easy three out frame,

Keith Foulke continues to save 95% of his games,

Ted Lilly, John Halama, and Rich Harden keep the team in the games they start,

Eric Chavez hits like the star he is,

Miguel Tejada keeps playing like he has the second half,

Erubiel Durazo punishes weaker pitchers,

Ramon Hernandez keeps his career year going,

Chad Bradford and Ricardo Rincon keep inherited runners from scoring,

Mark Ellis plays all star defense,

Scott Hatteberg gets well,

Jermaine Dye contributes something in September,

Jose Guillen hits with more power,

and the team continues to win at a .650 clip at home.

You get the idea. The A’s have plenty of people to count on. They cannot panic. Ken Macha has to keep a bright outlook.

Heck, they play Tampa Bay and Baltimore 12 times in the next two weeks.

The Angels and the Rangers have ended their seasons and are playing rookies. The A’s see those two teams 13 times in September.

The A’s always hold their own with Seattle, usually splitting their games.

After this series with Toronto, that’s it folks, the schedule is in the A’s favor.

Let me repeat, 25 games with Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Texas.

Boston may make things dicey, but then again after the A’s get finished with the two bottom feeders in the East, the A’s may have a four game lead in the wild card because Boston will be playing NY, the White Sox, and the pesky Blue Jays while the A’s fatten up on the O’s and Rays.

So, don’t cry just yet for Oakland. You don’t get to August 23rd tied for the lead by accident. It takes 25 players to get you there and 25 to get you home in October.

The loss of one man won’t knock the A’s out, especially a pitcher, if the other players on the team do their job.

This team is in the drivers seat they just have to keep the car on the road and score some runs.

And the other 24 players have to keep their eyes on the finish line.

I’m not worried about the A’s making the playoffs, are you?