Programming note: A’s-Rangers coverage starts today at 11:30 a.m. with A’s Pregame Live on Comcast SportsNet California. CHANNEL LISTINGS
Part of the reason the A’s bullpen looked so strong entering this season was because of its flexibility.
Even with closer Sean Doolittle injured, Oakland appeared to have the depth to adjust on the fly should things go wrong. Besides adding two-time All-Star Tyler Clippard, the A’s brought back Ryan Cook, Dan Otero, Eric O’Flaherty and Fernando Abad, an interchangeable core that’s shown in the past it can get the job done in the late innings.
Through 25 games in 2015, it’s obvious that things have strayed off course for the A’s relief corps. The troubling part is that none of the adjustments being made are providing the remedy.
Manager Bob Melvin has moved Evan Scribner into the eighth inning setup role. But the middle relief can’t always hold a lead in the seventh, as was the case in Saturday’s 8-7 loss at Texas. Dan Otero has been shifted around into different roles. Ryan Cook was recalled from the minors when it appeared he’d ironed out his command issues, but it’s obvious how much trouble he still has locating the strike zone at times.
[INSTANT REPLAY: A's blow lead, lose to Rangers in 10 innings]
Fernando Abad simply hasn’t been able to retire lefties in the past two games, which is his primary job for this team.
Melvin tried to express support after Saturday’s loss, in which the A’s coughed up a four-run lead in the seventh.
“You've got to have faith in these guys,” he told reporters after the game. “Obviously we've gone through a horrible stretch here. We've just got to work to get better.”
The A’s fell to 0-6 in one-run games with Saturday’s 10-inning loss. They’re also 0-4 in extra innings. Oakland’s relievers have taken the loss in eight of the team’s past 13 defeats.
Melvin speaks the truth from the standpoint that there aren’t any obvious fixes beyond the group of relievers the A’s have at the big league level. Unlike the rotation, an area in which Oakland has depth on reserve in the minor leagues, the A’s are what they are as a bullpen. Unless the front office swings a move to acquire a reliever from the outside, the A’s have no choice but to sink or swim with the current cast they have (along with Doolittle’s eventual return, obviously).
Switch pitcher Pat Venditte has thrown very well at Triple-A, and a couple others have some big league experience at that level. But there’s nobody wearing a Nashville Sounds uniform that’s going to be a game-changer at the big league level.
Doolittle’s return, whenever that may be, will be a huge shot in the arm. But look at the manner in which the bullpen has struggled, sometimes before the ninth inning. Would his presence even make a difference in some of these games?
The unfortunate thing for the A’s is that they’re getting some really nice contributions offensively. Josh Reddick has emerged as a force no matter where he hits in the batting order. Stephen Vogt has enjoyed a terrific start to the season. As a group, the A’s are holding down the fort offensively while Coco Crisp and Ben Zobrist are both sidelined by injuries.
But curing the bullpen’s woes obviously is a must, and it’s a problem that couldn’t have been predicted back in spring training.
