It’s difficult to criticize either of the A's last two regular seasons.

Both resulted in 97 wins, and while 2018’s success may have caught some by surprise, last season the A’s fought through injuries, slumps, and suspensions and still reached an impressive mark.

So how do they take the next step?

“I’m going to go ahead and say, by winning 98 games,” Liam Hendriks quipped.

Then, he noted how the A's can achieve said feat.

“It’s getting out of the gates early," Hendriks said. "We haven’t been able to bounce out early enough. We had a tepid couple of months, and then able to turn it on once our backs were against the wall. But we need to play like our backs are against the wall the entire season.”

For whatever reason, June 15 was the tipping point each of the last two years.

Literally, that identical date. The A’s were 34-36 in 2018, and 37-35 in 2019.

“It’s just kind of who you are,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I also think it has to do with how this organization does its business. We don’t make a ton of moves at the beginning of the year. Billy [Beane] and David [Forst] are very good about identifying the needs as the season gets to about that June-type scenario. In the past, we’ve had some new guys that learn our style and everything comes together right around that date, and then we look to make some moves accordingly. I think it has a lot to do with that.”

The similar turnarounds were even more encouraging in that the A's didn’t have to rely on the exact same players to ignite the push.

“We had guys step up,” shortstop Marcus Semien said. “One year it’s [Stephen] Piscotty and K.D. [Khris Davis] having a monster year. The next year, guys like [Mark] Canha, Ramon [Laureano]. If we get everybody on board, I think we’ll start off hot this year.”

Obviously, the early hopes of 2020 are centered around a playoff berth that begins with a series, instead of a third consecutive Wild Card game.

“The last two years, we’ve done extremely well but, maybe we’re missing something,” Sean Manaea said. “I think going through those two Wild Card games, neither of them ended up well, but everyone is finally starting to realize we can do this thing, there’s no reason we can’t.”

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It’s not to say another mediocre start would completely hinder the A’s. But they’d rather add a good start to their characteristically strong finishes.

“It’s all about putting yourself in a position for the last couple months,” said Melvin. “To see the finish line and play accordingly.”