McAdam: With less than two weeks to go, Sox no closer to finding relief

NEW YORK -- The days wind down now, the schedule ebbs, and yet, somehow, the same old problem remains.

Since the All-Star break, the Red Sox have a dozen blown saves, more than any other team in the game. Tuesday night was only the latest instance, and when the seemingly nightly spinout took place in the bottom of the seventh, it cost the Red Sox a chance to wrap up first place and get the celebrating out of the way.

Instead, a painful 3-2 loss ensued, made possible by two walks from Brandon Workman and a particularly flat slider from Ryan Brasier. The former put the baserunners on and latter made sure they were all cleaned up by Neil Walker's blast into the right-field seats.

At this point, a loss here and there is little more than an inconvenience. The Red Sox are still going to win the division, they're still going to have the best record in baseball at the end, and they're still going to have home-field advantage throughout the post-season.

But that isn't the issue anymore, and frankly, it hasn't been for some time. Thanks to the Red Sox' league-leading offense, their mostly excellent starting pitching and the Yankees' mediocre play for the last two months, the division title has been unofficially in the bag for some time now.

More pressing, though, is what the Red Sox' bullpen portends for October, when the opponents get tougher and late-inning missteps can prove injurious to a team's playoff health.

It's easy to envision the Red Sox scoring runs thanks to the top half of their lineup. It's similarly easy to imagine, despite their histories, Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Rick Porcello putting the team in position to win games. And, yes, it's easy to foresee a lead slipping away in the seventh and eighth inning.

That's because the past is prologue. Why should things change in two weeks' time?

From quite literally the first game of the season, the Red Sox have struggled in high-leverage spots, that yawning chasm that separates the starters from closer Craig Kimbrel.

On Tuesday, it was more distressing that the Sox' loss was the fault of Brandon Workman and Ryan Brasier, two of the team's more reliable late-inning options of late.  Since Aug. 7, Workman had fashioned a tidy 1.50 ERA while Brasier had been unscored upon in 24 of his last 29 appearances.

So, naturally, Workman couldn't find the strike zone -- issuing two walks to the three hitters he was tasked with getting -- and Brasier was victimized by the home run, just his second in 30 appearances.

Through it all, Alex Cora maintains a measured stance, shrugging off Tuesday's spinout as an off-night for two otherwise reliable relievers.

And while it's true that even the best, most dependable bullpen are subject to occasional slippage. But when it happens as consistently as it has with the Red Sox, there's plenty cause for concern.

"When we get everybody healthy,'' said Cora, "we should be fine. As you know, (Matt) Barnes is a big part of what we're trying to do in the bullpen. That's a guy who we've been relying upon the whole season and when he comes back (from left hip inflammation), we've got Craig, Barnesy and Ryan and we'll go from there.''

That seems a mighty big bet on some untested options. Sure, Kimbrel is an elite closer. But Barnes was left off the playoff roster last October and has no postseason experience to speak of. And Brasier, as good as he's been, was in Triple-A as recently as three months ago, and a year ago, was pitching in the minor leagues in Japan.

Forgive me if this trio doesn't exactly invite comparisons to the Cincinnati's Nasty Boys (Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers) in the early 1990s. Or, for that matter, the Yankees' trio of Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and Zach Britton.

Maybe the Red Sox will get deeper starts from their rotation, and with scheduled off-days on the postseason calendar, can ride Barnes and Kimbrel for six and seven outs nightly. But that isn't something they've done much of this season and it's a leap of faith to think it can be done in the playoffs as easily as flipping a switch — against superior lineups, to boot.

Cora will spend the final 11 games continuing to stage his Community Auditions, determining whom he can trust. There are (likely) seven bullpen spots to fill on his postseason roster.

Still unanswered, through 151 games: are there seven playoff-worthy relievers to fill them?

[democracy id="19"]