The A’s bullpen: a matter of balance

Around the horn:

Not that anyone’s laughing, but the A’s are no joke. They have a legitimate shot at the postseason and every right to start thinking what that means. And it raises the question: Can you navigate the challenge of American League playoffs with only one lefthanded reliever?

Heaven knows they’re wellstocked from the other side. They seem to pick up another potential right-handed closer every week. For the moment, though, Ryan Buchter is their only lefty out of the bullpen. The postseason contenders have a fearsome collection of power hitters who hit from the right side (or both), but it’s impossible to ignore the lefthanded threats from Houston ( Josh Reddick), Seattle (Dee Gordon, Kyle Seager), Boston (Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Mitch Moreland), New York (Greg Bird, Didi Gregorius) or Cleveland (Michael Brantley, Yonder Alonso, Jason Kipnis). As well as the A’s relievers pitch to hitter, creating lefty-lefty matchups can be crucial.

The A’s did claim a left-handed reliever on waivers recently, without success. They also have lefties Danny Coulombe and Dean Kiekhefer doing solid work at Triple-A Nashville. Something to watch as the stretch drive approaches.

More bullpen stuff: In si.com’s poll asking players to name the pitcher they least like to face, Houston’s Alex Bregman answered, “Blake Treinen. He’s embarrassed me and made me hit a ball 3 feet in front of the plate.”

Seems strange that the Mariners, with waiver priority, bypassed a chance to block the A’s deals for Mike Fiers and Fernando Rodney. Similarly, the reliever-strapped Indians passed on Rodney.

An objective look at the AL MVP ballot, given the everpresent handicap of playing on the West Coast: 1. Mookie Betts; 2. Jose Ramirez; 3. J.D. Martinez; 4. Khris Davis (remembering that in-tune voters might lean toward Matt Chapman); 5. Mike Trout.

“Tanking” is frowned upon in English soccer. Each year, the three least successful teams in the Premier League are relegated to lower divisions, forced to earn their way back up. (This year’s victims were Stoke City, West Brom and Swansea City.) Can you imagine such a thing in baseball?

Couldn’t agree more with colleague Ann Killion about the prospective Howard Terminal site for the A’s. It’s not an attractive neighborhood, and fans need to feel comfortable. No convenient BART access, no dice.

Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1