I think it’s key for the A’s to lighten the workload of Breslow and Wuertz, in particular, this season. They squeezed every ounce they could out of both guys last season, and they can’t be expected to produce at the same level if they’re used that heavily again. We’re already seeing wear and tear w/Wuertz, who’s on the DL, although we can’t say for sure that his 2009 workload was responsible for his shoulder injury.

As for your other point, a bullpen coach only gets to see a reliever warm up for a very short time before he enters the game. It’s tough to get a read on how well a guy will do based on how he looks in the ‘pen. Generally, managers ask their relievers how they feel before a game, and that weighs heavily in who they call on in that night’s game.