It wouldn't quite be 2012 if a day went by without a closer's losing his job: Grant Balfour is out in Oakland, and Brian Fuentes is in. "We're going to back off with Balfour a little while and see what Brian has to offer," A's manager Bob Melvin told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Balfour has a 4.41 ERA on the season, and in particular he's endured a rough stretch of late -- seven runs allowed over his last seven outings. Fuentes, meanwhile, has given up just two runs over a similar span, and he has a K/BB ratio of 6.0 thus far (although his ERA of 3.86 is nothing special by reliever standards).
To the extent that save totals mean anything, it's worth noting that Fuentes has 201 of them in his major-league career, so he's accustomed to ninth-inning detail. "It's where I feel most comfortable, and I believe I can get the job done," Fuentes said his new/old role. "It's good to know he has that confidence in me."
