The Week That Was (Relievers)

Bailey: 3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Ziegler: 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Ross: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Breslow: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Wuertz: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Blevins: 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Gaudin: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Totals: 16 1/3 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

WHIP: 0.98

Bottom Line: The relief staff is nasty. Bailey leads the league in baserunners per nine and Ziegler's in the top 10. Breslow and Wuertz round out the bullpen nicely, with Ross proving effective in his rookie season, Blevins doing his job as a situational lefty and Gaudin mopping up garbage innings. Worth it to note that Gaudin leads the league in inherited baserunners scored, at 0. Of course, he doesn't seem to have the same luck with his own baserunners, but that's a different story.

Prospectus: The league doesn't stand much of a chance unless it can get to the soft part of the Oakland rotation. We always seem to note the incredible amount of appearances and innings pitching for A's relievers, but it never seems to hobble them. They've led the league with Wuertz out until last week and Devine out for more than a year. Henry Rodriguez hasn't even been thrown into the mix yet, and his fastball's supposed to top out at 100.