This story was excerpted from Mart¨ªn Gallegos¡¯ A¡¯s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

OAKLAND ¨C The A¡¯s entered Tuesday's game against the Rangers at the Coliseum just three games back from first place in the American League West.

Considering they lost 112 games in 2023, the A¡¯s (17-19) hovering around .500 and within striking distance in a tough division more than a month into the season is a surprise for most people in the baseball world. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, however, had an idea this might be coming.

Bochy first took notice of the A¡¯s perhaps being a better team than preseason prognostications indicated during Spring Training. Then came a three-game series at Globe Life Field on April 9-11 in Arlington, when the A¡¯s took two of three from the defending World Series champions, with Oakland¡¯s bullpen -- led by flamethrowing rookie Mason Miller -- leaving him particularly impressed.

¡°I saw it this spring,¡± Bochy said during an interview with A¡¯s Cast on Monday. ¡°You can tell this was a much better club. You look at the pitching, the back end of their bullpen is as good as anybody in baseball. That¡¯s how good they¡¯re throwing the ball. They do damage. They slug it. We saw it. ¡­ I just think they¡¯re playing with a lot of confidence. Credit goes to [A¡¯s manager] Mark Kotsay. What a great job he¡¯s done here. I¡¯m happy for him. We know we have our hands full here in this four-game series.¡±

Over his 27 seasons as a Major League manager, Bochy has seen a few of his former players go on to become a big league skipper. Kotsay, who played for Bochy with the Padres from 2001-03, was one of those players whom Bochy envisioned one day making the transition into coaching.

¡°I look at players when they play for me and the way they lead,¡± Bochy said. ¡°It can be by example, and what I mean by that is just how hard they play the game with intensity and enthusiasm, because that¡¯s contagious, or they¡¯ll do it vocally. Mark did both. Mark was not afraid to say something to a player when they maybe didn¡¯t do something right or needed a pat on the back. He was a very caring teammate. But also, he wasn¡¯t afraid to be honest with them. As I got to know him, even before he started managing, I knew this would be the path for him. I think he¡¯s going to have a long career as a manager and he¡¯s going to do a great job.¡±

Kotsay, now in his third season as Oakland¡¯s manager, dished out high praise for his former skipper on Monday before a 4-2 loss.

¡°He¡¯s done it for a really long time,¡± Kotsay said of Bochy. ¡°I don¡¯t think we surprise him by [doing] anything. ¡­ When people talk about Boch, sometimes they don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s making decisions based on analytics or data, but it¡¯s all there. He¡¯s one of the best at knowing the numbers and having a good feel for players and when to ride them or when to back off them. You¡¯ve seen what he¡¯s done with his bullpen. ¡­ He¡¯s well aware of his players and their performance.¡±