You would have thought that the 2005 Oakland Athletics campaign reached its nadir after the A's lost their eighth straight contest and 11th of their last 12, taking them to 14-23 in the middle of May. Gone were two of the Big Three, and the remaining one, Barry Zito, was off on the wrong foot, owning a 5.54 ERA in his first eight starts.
Oakland was placing its staff ace, Rich Harden, on the disabled list with an oblique injury that would keep him out for a month. Right fielder Nick Swisher, their top prospect, was flirting with the Mendoza Line before going on the disabled list himself with a right shoulder sprain.