McAdam: Red Sox have reached a crisis point with their bullpen

Alex Cora is fond of mentioning the prospect of a "happy flight'' -- that is, a trip in which the team is in buoyant mood following a win on getaway days, when the Sox have to travel immediately after the final game of a series.

And the Sox have found a way to make most of their flights joyous indeed: heading into Wednesday, they had won 12 of their last 13 getaway games and 15 of their last 19.

But the team's long trip to London, in all likelihood, was a somber one, in the aftermath of a crushing 8-7 defeat to the Chicago White Sox. The flight from Logan to Heathrow was expected to take approximately six hours, but the way the Sox let one get away Wednesday afternoon probably made that trip feel more like six days.

A 3,000-mile jaunt across the Atlantic was plenty of time to rehash the way this one slipped through their fingers, just like another one had on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Two blown leads in the ninth in the span of five days is a lot to digest.



Wednesday represented a new low. After rallying with a run in the seventh and three more in the eighth to take the lead for the first time, the Sox were in position to sweep the series. It didn't happen.

Had the Sox held on both leads for three more outs, they would have finished the homestand 5-1. That, on the heels of a 5-1 road trip and two wins at the end of the previous homestand have sent the Sox off with a 12-2 record in the last 14 games, a suitable surge of momentum to take them on their journey.

Instead, they could contemplate another one that got away and debate what to do with the smoldering embers that was once their bullpen.

At the very least, it would seem, taking Matt Barnes out of the "super reliever'' role -- or what passes for a closer in the Red Sox' reimagined bullpen setup -- would seem to be in order. Barnes was the losing pitcher of record in both losses and has six blown saves in a pen that has blown 16 at a game past the mid-point of the season.

"We'll see,'' said Cora, when asked if he was contemplating a change. "We've got two days off and then we have the off-day on Monday.''

Though he didn't use it as an excuse, fatigue is undoubtedly a factor in Barnes' struggles. Wednesday marked the 14th time he'd pitched in the month of June, an average of more than once every two days. His ERA for that time is a bloated 7.82 for June.

The high number of appearances -- Barnes has 36 outings in 82 games, which translates to 70 for the season -- are largely the result of some short outings from starters and the unusually high number of close-scoring games the Sox have played of late. Almost exactly half  -- 40 of 82 -- have been determined by one or two runs.

"I know the usage is there,'' said Cora. "But everybody's been used a lot ... just got to get the job done.''

That didn't sound like a particularly sympathetic response from the manager, who does  have other options, led by Brandon Workman.

But if Cora has time to contemplate, Dave Dombrowski must be ready to act, and fast.

The July 31 is a bit more than a month away, but it doesn't seem as though Dombrowski can wait until after the All-Star break to find reinforcements. At this rate, even allowing for the chunks of downtime the club will have in the next two weeks thanks to the London trip and then the All-Star break itself, the Sox could be playing themselves out of contention if the leak isn't soon plugged.

Were Dombrowski to jump the line, the Sox would likely have to pay more in prospects in order to get an additional month of return while also facing the prospect of another month of incoming salary for a veteran reliever.

But what choice do the Sox have? Barnes can still be a contributing factor in the late innings, but for the time being, it's impossible to imagine him getting the ball in the highest of leverage situations. That role needs to go to someone else, and soon -- either another pitcher currently on the staff, or someone obtained in trade from elsewhere.

After the weekend in London, the Sox have two winnable series left before the break in Toronto and Detroit. But help is needed to convert winnable games into actual wins.

Other teams will soon be searching for bullpen upgrades. But none has the amount of payroll invested that the Sox have. None is looking to repeat as world champions. In short, none has as much at stake.

The time for action is now. Or, the 2019 season will soon become a moot point.