A's Ziegler finally gives up a run

They're never on "SportsCenter" unless they mess up, and they don't make the huge money. Middle reliever is just about the most anonymous existence a big-leaguer can have, especially on a team that isn't a contender.

And ever-so-quietly, 28-year-old right-hander Brad Ziegler is having one of the best seasons ever for a middle-inning guy. The Oakland A's rookie didn't allow a run in the first 39 innings of his MLB career. He finally yielded one on Thursday to the Tampa Bay Rays as Oakland lost for the 23rd time in 27 games. B.J. Upton hit an RBI double to score Akinori Iwamura.

"Hey, at least it wasn't a cheapie," Ziegler told the San Francisco Chronicle. "As long as I'm not remembered just for those first 39 innings, I'll be OK with that."

Ziegler's ERA rose to 0.23 with the run. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com points out that since 1901, only six relievers finished a season with at least 50 innings and an ERA below 1.00. The gold standard is Dennis Eckersley, who had an incredible 0.61 ERA in 73 innings in 1990. Eckersley was fifth in the Cy Young voting that year as a closer. Ziegler probably won't even get a vote.

"I could have gone scoreless the whole year long and not won the Cy Young Award," Ziegler told the Chronicle. But that's life as a middle reliever.