Through May 11, the Athletics had totaled just eight errors in 40 games. The next day they placed shortstop Jacob Wilson on the IL. In the next six games they committed nine. 

The A's are a team built on interdependence. Time and again over the past three years, manager Mark Kotsay has smiled after wins and pointed to how he used his whole bench, crediting the entire roster for the win. 

Right now the A's don't have that. 

The defensive ability of this club has been masking flaws in the pitching staff, while the pitching staff has been masking inconsistencies in the offense. Remove one piece, and the whole thing gets exposed.

On Sunday, the A's received a terrific start from Jeffrey Springs, who went six innings and gave up two runs (one earned), while the earned run was heavily wind-aided on a blustery Sacramento afternoon. 

Third baseman Zack Gelof made an error in the fourth inning, compounding the difficult conditions and resulting in an unearned run. In the eighth, Gelof made a second throwing error.

Lawrence Butler added an exclamation point, dropping a routine exchange in center field. San Francisco batted around, scoring eight runs in the inning, and won 10-1. 

The errors don't tell the whole story. Second baseman Jeff McNeil had a ball eat him up on Sunday, and instead of getting a double play or cutting down the runner at home, he was only able to get the out at first, keeping the Giants in business. 

For the week, the A's played only one clean game of baseball, in their win against the Giants on Friday night. They went an unsurprising 2-4 at home, given the amount of defensive miscues. 

The pitching staff carries a 4.32 ERA, ranking 21st in MLB. That number works at 23-23 because the defense behind the staff has been largely tremendous and the offense has been league average at worst. Take the defense away and that equation changes quickly.

If the defense falters, that means longer innings for the pitching staff and more strain on the bullpen. Fatigue becomes a real factor. The A's need to be as close to their best selves daily with a roster that doesn't leave much wiggle room for struggles. 

The A's offense was expected to be one of the best, with so many young pieces on the roster — including the AL Rookie of the Year and the runner-up in Nick Kurtz and Wilson. This was a lineup built to hit the ball out of the ballpark regularly. 

It's still May, but the A's rank 12th in home runs with 51, 17th in runs scored with 200, and 8th in OPS with a cumulative .729. They're hovering near expectations but not quite living up to them, while finding the production that is keeping them afloat outside the usual suspects. 

Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz have been leading the charge atop the A's lineup, while surprising performances from Carlos Cortes (162 wRC+) and Zack Gelof (113 wRC+) would be providing even bigger boosts to the offense if they weren't load-bearing pieces right now. 

Gelof has provided the A's with roster flexibility, taking on two completely new positions in center and at third base, which has allowed his bat to remain in the lineup consistently. The defensive end of that trade-off is still a work-in-progress. 

While Gelof and Cortes have stood out, and even Colby Thomas has made the most of his limited playing time, three players with extensions in their pockets have been struggling — and the fourth, Wilson, is currently on the IL.  

Tyler Soderstrom is batting just .195 with a .281 OBP and a .665 OPS, which works out to an 82 wRC+ (100 is league average). His 14 doubles are tied for second across baseball, which offers some consolation. 

The big difference between this year and last has been his BABIP, which sat at .327 last year and has dropped to .227 so far this season. While the rest of his numbers on Baseball Savant aren't in line with last season, they're not far off, either.

His expected batting average sits at .237, but he's striking out less and walking more than last season. His exit velocity remains two mph above league average. The underlying numbers suggest the hits will come. It's just a matter of when.

The other two cornerstones — Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker — are dealing with struggles of a different kind. 

On Sunday, Rooker hit a ball to shortstop that was bobbled. He had plenty of time to beat it out, but he didn't run and was thrown out easily. When you're already struggling, a hustle play is sometimes what turns things around. Not running ensures the struggles compound.

He's batting .196 with a .281 OBP and a .656 OPS, and after three straight 30-plus home run seasons, there's reason to believe he'll get back to crushing balls at some point this season. But those mental lapses give some pause. 

Butler, like Soderstrom and Rooker, is batting below .200, sitting at .171 on the year with a .272 OBP and a .536 OPS. His problem is also mental. A couple of weeks back, he was getting picked off first base consistently, so even when he was getting on base, it didn't last long. 

His at-bats at times have seemed uncompetitive. 

This feels more like a player who was making good contact early in the year without seeing results, and then stepped away from the process before the results came. Now he's lost at the plate, going 2-for-12 on the homestand and playing his way into more of a bench role. 

With a crowded outfield mix that has Cortes and Thomas competing for playing time in platoon roles with little room for much more, the A's may have a tough decision to make here. 

This could also go for Rooker, whose DH spot could be used to get a bat like Cortes in the lineup in the right situation. When Rooker was on the IL earlier this season, Cortes broke out and became a fan favorite.

There isn't as much playing time to go around, and Kotsay is doing his best to spin nine different plates at the same time, but some of these dishes are looking mighty wobbly. They may have to reset the table before the plates crash to the ground and take the team with them.