Oakland watchers thrown a curve. (Caught On The Fly).

Ask a baseball guy, any baseball guy will do, what makes the As go, and he'll rattle off Hudson, Mulder and Zito faster than Billy Beane can calculate someone's OBP. But a numbers crunch shows that the Z-man has been checking in with about a win a month since May 15. Though the "0" and 'pen haven't always helped, Fly's scouting eye says that big bender isn't as knee-buckling as before, causing the walks to go up and the A's down. Reading the As poker face isn't that tough: When it has three aces, they're in it for the long haul. If they're down to two, it's time to fold.

TomK-0 is a punching bag

Of all of the Cardinals' pitching disappointments this season, the biggest has been Brett Tomko--and that's saying something considering Garrett Staphenson still is taking the mound for this team. Before the season, the Cards' brass swore Tomko finally would translate his stuff into wins, but the company line failed to factor in the straight line, which is the path that Tomko's pitches take to the plate (he is allowing opponents to tee off at an N.L.-worst .318 clip). The lone bright spot in his game ...