30 A's in 30 Days – Jerry Blevins

Acquired: Traded from Chicago (NL) for Jason Kendall's grit, gumption and girly levels of production (July 16, 2007).
Contract: One year thru 2009. Eligible for arbitration after 2011 season.
Position: Facing Josh Hamilton, Jim Thome and David Ortiz in the 7th inning.

Projected ERA: 3.82

Over/Under: Blevins barely has 100 days of Major League service time, but his (brief) career numbers versus lefties (.212/.264/.258) portend well for a Tony Fossas/Jesse Orosco kind of longevity. The A's haven't exactly affixed the LOOGY label to Blevins, either. He pitched more than one inning in nine of his 36 appearances last year, surrendering runs in just two of those games. On the other hand, between Triple-A and the Majors, Blevins threw 70 innings and in his final 23 games with Oakland his ERA was 4.50 (vs. 0.66 in his first 13). OVER.

By the Numbers: 1.33, 6.14 – Blevins' career home ERA vs. career road ERA. In an almost equal split of innings pitched, his OPS allowed in Oakland is .488 and .831 everywhere else. Seeing as how the A's finished 13th in the American League in attendance, one can reasonably assume that Jerry Blevins suffers from enochlophobia. So, keep it down, rest of the AL. And, to you tinier-than-Oakland crowds in Kansas City, I say "thank you".

Surefire '09 Prediction: I'm planning on attending several A's games in Southern California this season. Consequently, I'm all but assured one long drive back to San Diego in which I'm cursing Jerry Blevins name the whole way.