Sorry, it's only the second series of the season and already the GOG is going up late. I have an excuse, which involves travel and my shocked refusal to pay extra for hotel internet in this day and age. So this is going to be a short one.

After a disappointing first two games against a division rival, the A's did manage to pull off a nice win in game 3, significantly lowering my panic level. There are all sorts of interesting signs (with extra small samples!). Cahill is looking like a strikeout pitcher, Willingham provides some nice middle of the lineup production, and the bullpen has so far been a disaster. Now let's all guess where things will stand after three more games.

GOG 2011 #02 -- Half-Assed Toronto GOG

1. Predict the series outcome. [3 points] 2-1 Toronto
2. How does "Big 5" member Brandon McCarthy fare in his first start for the A's? Predict his IP and earned runs. [2 points each] 8 IP, 4 ER
3. Jose Bautista had a breakout power year in 2010, hitting 54 home runs. He has picked up where he left off, with 2 home runs so far this season. Predict Bautista's BB, RBI, and total bases. [2 points each] didn't play, question canceled
4. In their first series, Athletics hitters saw an average of only 3.3 pitches per plate appearance, falling far short of Moneyball ideals and making Billy Beane cry. The Mariners, usually known as a free swinging bunch (they have Miguel Olivo!) averaged 4.2 pitches per plate appearance, and knocked Cahill and Anderson out of the games early as a result. Will Oakland hitters manage to see at least 4 pitches per plate appearance in this upcoming series? [2 points] no (3.89 pitches per PA)
5. I'm sure that the A's bullpen ERA will improve from the current 5.79 mark as the season progresses. But for now, Oakland is still missing Andrew Bailey while Breslow and Wuertz both suffer from short spring tune-ups. Which Oakland relievers have the best and worst performances, as measured by summing their Win Probability contributions over the full series. [3 points each] best is Fuentes (+0.210), worst is Balfour (-0.790)
6. Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero matches up well against any of the A's young rotation. He is 26 years old and struck out seven Twins with zero walks in his first 2011 start. Predict his IP, K, and BB. [2 points each] 7.1 IP, 5 K, 2 BB
7. I don't think I need to explain why this question is included -- How many errors do the A's defenders commit? [3 points] 2 errors

Don't forget that this series is played in the eastern time zone. Get your entries posted by 4:05 pacific time today (less than four hours!)

Scores

Congratulations to the winners -- thewhizkid, nevermoor, vignette17, and lenscrafters!

• mean = 4.42 points
• standard deviation = 3.37 points
• median = 4 points