First, I'd like to take the blame for newly annointed All-Star Dan Haren giving up five runs to the Yankees. His streak of seventeen consecutive games with three or fewer earned runs ( ) came to a grinding halt after I brought up his name and ERA. The last four times I've mentioned pitching performances by an A's hurler, they've abruptly changed their tune.

• Rich Harden, well, we all know how his season is progressing...
• Joe Kennedy turned things around after I declared him a disaster.
• Joe Blanton fell off of his pace after my comparison that drew Rob Neyer's attention.
• Dan Haren gave up five runs after being mentioned as the bright spot that caused the inept offense to bother me less.

So, I'm sorry, A's fans. You won't see me picking out pitchers for a while. At least it didn't cause a loss -- thanks to Jack Cust. I fear for Gaudin, though...

Speaking of the Great Cust, perhaps he's made an adjustment lately? He's on a home run tear that, while not quite approaching his burst onto the scene, is in the same zip code. His epic homerless drought ( ) is over, and his strikeouts are down a bit ( ), too.

Oh, and here's a list of the top 10 hitters in baseball sorted by OPS (min: 175 PA)

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Barry Bonds	SFO	16	84	32	.304	.516	.603	1.119
2	Alex Rodriguez	NYY	28	45	64	.327	.425	.680	1.105
3	Magglio Ordonez	DET	13	41	36	.369	.444	.617	1.061
4	Jack Cust	OAK	14	32	60	.288	.411	.615	1.026
5	Chipper Jones	ATL	13	34	35	.327	.416	.595	1.011
6	Vladimir Guerrero	LAA	14	46	30	.328	.423	.564	.987
7	David Ortiz	BOS	13	54	53	.314	.430	.557	.987
8	Chase Utley	PHI	15	31	56	.326	.406	.579	.985
9	Prince Fielder	MIL	27	38	67	.281	.371	.614	.985
10	Carlos Pena	TAM	18	31	61	.280	.380	.604	.983

Notice any surprises on there? No, not Carlos Pena -- though who'd have guessed that he'd be that high...

Jack Cust has the 4th highest OPS in baseball at the All-Star break. While it isn't "official" since he doesn't have the 250 PA to qualify at this point, it's close enough for me.

It might just be the irrational fan in me, but I'd like to think that Dan Johnson's bat is coming alive, too. His hits ( ) and home runs ( ) have been up lately, though I don't like how many ground ball outs he rolls over on to the right side of the field.