FanHouse

Jack Cust's walk-off three-run homer on Sunday capped off a five-run ninth inning for the Athletics as they came back to beat the Indians 10-7 in Oakland. It also put the finishing touches on what was one helluva week for the recently acquired Cust.

He's homered in the last four games for the Athletics, and has six in the seven games he's played for them since being acquired from the Padres on May 3rd. In those seven games Cust is hitting .346 with the six home runs and 14 RBI's and is practically keeping the Athletics afloat by himself.

"I'm just trying to take advantage of the opportunity and make a contribution somehow."

Where in the hell did this guy come from?

Well, this is the kind of hitting that scouts thought they'd see from Cust when the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the first round of the 1997 draft. The problem is, Cust just never showed the ability on the Major League baseball diamond. In five seperate stints in the big leagues with four different teams, Cust had only managed a .222 average with 5 home runs in 144 at bats.

He's spent time in Arizona, Colorado, Baltimore, and San Diego, but now that he's in Oakland he was able to double his career home run total in 26 at bats.

Apparently Jack must be paying more attention to the hitting instructions of his father, Jack Cust Sr, who has his own baseball academy "for the serious player."

Whatever it is that Jack Cust is doing right now, it's working, and if he can keep it up it's unlikely that the Athletics will be the fifth team to trade him in the last six years.