Oakland A's: Why Do They Only Have One Left-Handed Reliever?

It was just a matter of time before the Oakland A's got burned by David Ortiz.  Unfortunately for the A's, it was a three-run home run by Ortiz to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning in today's game.

Yes, the A's should have been in the dugout when Ortiz hit his dinger, but Jack Cust was unable to catch what would be normally a routine flyball earlier.  The sun it made it virtually impossible for Cust, even with sunglasses on, to find the ball.

Michael Wuertz was on the mound at the time and he was used three days in a row.  The inning started off sour for the A's as well with a leadoff walk to Jacoby Ellsbury, but Wuertz got Dustin Pedroia to ground into a double play.

Kevin Youkilis was the next batter up and that's when Cust had the difficulty trying to catch his flyball which got him to second base.  Wuertz then walked Jason Bay, setting up the Ortiz versus Craig Breslow matchup.

In last night's game, Breslow won the battle by getting a fastball in on Ortiz who popped the ball up.  Well, this time Ortiz got his revenge by hitting a long three-run home run.

What's more frustrating is the fact that Breslow was used in that situation because he faced Ortiz the night before.  The A's are one of the few bullpens in the major leagues without a second left-handed reliever.

So, the question that needs to be asked is, why hasn't Billy Beane brought up a second southpaw?  I saw that there were trade rumors involving Russ Springer, so couldn't he just easily get rid of Springer and bring up a left-handed reliever?  Heck, if teams don't want Springer, just release him.  He's been terrible this year.

Would it be hard for the A's to find a left-handed reliever?  No.  They have three possibilities in Sacramento.

One option would be Jay Marshall who has some experience in the major leagues already.  Right now in Sacramento, he's appeared in 45 games, has a 3-2 record, six saves, an ERA of 2.89, and has struck out 29 while walking 12 in 46.2 innings.

Jerry Blevins is another option.  He's 3-3 with an ERA of 3.88 in 32 games and he's struck out 41 while walking 12 in 46.1 innings.

Finally, the last option would be Brad Kilby, who's got a 2.60 ERA in 32 games, a 3-2 record, two saves, and has 49 strikeouts to 13 walks in 45 innings.

With those options down at Sacramento, why hasn't Beane put another lefty in the bullpen?  Santiago Casilla is also another reliever who has struggled.  He could designate Casilla for assignment and send Eric Patterson back down, so it's not like the A's don't have any options to get a left hander into the major leagues.  It would help Breslow out, and it also would help out the A's as a team as well.

Gio Gonzalez gets a no decision today after going 5.1 innings allowing three runs, striking out eight, and walking four.  He was in line for the win, but the A's bullpen could not hold it, and part of the blame goes squarely on Beane for not having another left-hander out of the bullpen.