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Susan Slusser's got some bad news about Oakland's supposed closer:

I just had it confirmed from Joey Devine's agent that Devine had Tommy John surgery, otherwise known as ligament replacement surgery. Considering the length of time the team expected him to miss - at least the remainder of the season - this is not really a surprise, but it does mean that the recovery time could be more like a year and a half. The fact that Devine is a reliever will shorten the time a bit, but it is unlikely that he'd be back in action for the A's until midseason next year, just based on others who have had the same surgery.

Manager Bob Geren says that co-closer Joey Devine had surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Tuesday, but details were sketchy besides that.

Geren said that the team has not been informed yet the nature of the surgery - i.e., if ligament replacement was involved, which would probably keep Devine out more than a year. Clearly, however, the surgery was more than a routine arthroscopic cleanup, which would only sideline a pitcher for six weeks or so.

Boy, things sure are turning to mush for the A's in a hurry. We're not even into May, and they've already lost their best reliever (Devine) for the season and their best starter (Justin Duchscherer) until June or perhaps July. None of the regulars except Jack Cust are hitting -- Eric Chavez is particularly not hitting -- and the four bench players have combined for a robust .164 batting average.

Meanwhile, among the green starting pitchers, Dallas Braden has 10 strikeouts in 19 innings, Trevor Cahill has 13 walks and 5 strikeouts in 17 innings ... and they're the good ones, as Brett Anderson and Josh Outman have been shaky and winless in their four starts.

On a happier note, the A's have somehow scored almost as many runs as they've allowed, and their 5-7 record is good enough for second place in what's looking like the worst division in the majors. Another happy note: It's hard to imagine how they could play worse than they've played.