McAdam: Unless Chris Sale figures some things out quickly, Red Sox playoff chances at risk

The Red Sox' day-night doubleheader Wednesday meant nothing to them.

They had already clinched (in order of occurrence)  a playoff spot, the division title, the best record in franchise history and home field throughout the playoffs.

They know they'll be home next week; only their opponent is unknown.

So, again, nothing was at stake.

Except, that is, their postseason hopes.

Because if the Red Sox don't have Chris Sale in anywhere near top form, they go from slight favorite to win the American League team to Just Another Team in the tournament.

And the Sale who pitched  4.2 innings in the nightcap was far from peak Sale. His command was erratic and his velocity was down, at a time when the Red Sox were hoping it may tick up.

This was actually a continuation of a troubling trend over the last few weeks. Since Sale has returned from his second DL stint, the velocity on his fastball has declined rather than surged. He's gone from 96 mph in his first one to 94 mph to 93 mph to 90 mph Wednesday night.

Initially, it was suggested that Sale purposely eased up on the gas after he appeared to be overthrowing in his first outing against Toronto. Sale maintained that there was plenty left in the tank, to be summoned when necessary. But ever since, his fastball has regressed.

That would be troubling enough on its own. But beyond the drop in velocity, Sale's mechanics are off, enough for him to immediately seek out video from Wednesday.

"(I'm) just not really driving off my lower half,'' Sale revealed afterward, "and really create the torque I have in the past.''

For Sale, there are no more games to pitch before Game 1 of the Division Series on Oct. 5. Whatever tinkering he does, it must be done in the video room and on a mound in an empty Fenway Park on Monday when he's scheduled to throw a side session.

Perhaps Sale can make the necessary adjustments -- with the input of pitching coaches Dana LeVangie and Brian Bannister -- and be a reasonable approximation of the pitcher who was the best pitcher in the American League for the first four-plus months of this season.

But the fact that Sale is tinkering with his mechanics this late in the process, with diminished life on his fastball, is troubling to say the least.

The Sox appeared to be doing everything right in how they handled Sale's rehab the second time. They slowed down his throwing program, erred on the side of caution and, buoyed by a comfortable lead in the division, wisely refrained from rushing him back as he recovered from "mild shoulder inflammation.''

But while that seemed like the prudent stance, there's this ominous context: Sale looked far better in coming back from his first setback (in Baltimore in early August) than he has since. That day, Sale was his overpowering self, routinely hitting 98 mph on the radar gun with his fastball while piling up strikeouts (12 in just five innings, on a mere 68 pitches).

Since then, Sale has been ordinary and his velocity is going backward.

Without Sale at something close to his peak, the Red Sox rotation becomes ordinary. Despite a fine regular season, David Price's postseason history is well-documented, and Rick Porcello falls into the very same category. For now, the fourth starter is uncertain, but neither Nathan Eovaldi nor Eduardo Rodriguez has an October track record.

In a short (five-game) series, the prospect of having Sale pitching twice should give the Red Sox a sense of supreme confidence. Sale at his peak almost guarantees two of the three wins necessary to advance to the ALCS.

But the Sale on display Wednesday night represents a pitcher at perhaps 75 percent of his normal capability. That may be enough to get by an opponent (either the Yankees or A's) with starting pitching issues of their own, but it surely puts the Red Sox at a disadvantage in the next round, with either the Astros or Indians awaiting them, each with vastly superior and deeper rotations.

Maybe Sale will figure out some mechanical tweaks in the next week and his first few pitches a week from Friday will arrive with their customary pop.

Until then, however, the clock is ticking on the Red Sox' postseason hopes.