Periodically over the second half of the season, in games in which his bullpen has faltered in the seventh or eighth inning, Alex Cora has been asked why he didn't choose to go with one of his high-leverage relievers in a particular situation.
Cora usually explains that, tempting as might be to go to his two most trusty late-inning options when the Sox are tied or up by a run, it's simply not feasible.
"Other guys have to step up,'' Cora offers. "It can't be the same two guys every time.''
Indeed, it can't. Lately, Cora has been even more judicious, trying to save John Schreiber or Garrett Whitlock for games in which the Sox have a legitimate chance to win a game in the late innings.
He used them both to help secure Saturday's one-run game. But when he went to the well with Schreiber again Sunday night, the move backfired in a big way. Inheriting a baserunner with one out in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game with the Baltimore Orioles, Schreiber proceeded to hit the first batter he faced with his first pitch, followed by a four-pitch walk, followed by a three-run, bases-clearing double by Jorge Mateo.
The Sox managed a run in the top of the ninth, but it wasn't nearly enough in a 5-3 loss to the O's. The defeat left the Red Sox with a 3-3 road trip, two games under .500 and six full games in back of the final wild-card spot.
It's hard not to think that Schreiber has hit a wall of late. In his last 19 innings, he's allowed 12 runs. Prior to that stretch, he allowed just three runs in his first 30 innings this season.
In 27 games since the All-Star break, Schreiber has pitched 13 times. And they're not routine appearances, either -- usually, Schreiber is called upon in either the seventh or eighth, against the toughest part of the opposing lineup. As the job description would indicate, virtually every outing is high-leverage in nature. Typically, he's tasked with facing the best hitters in the biggest situations.
And now, it would appear, that workload has taken its toll.
Keep in mind, too, that this represented uncharted waters for Schreiber, who, at 28, had never pitched as many as 16 innings in a big league season until this year.
Not that this can be laid at Cora's feet. After the loss, he said his hope had been that, with a runner on first and one out, Schreiber could get two outs on one pitch and be done, with someone else taking the ball for the ninth. But the Sox, who had rallied in the top of the eighth on Franchy Cordero's pinch-hit homer, were done in by the three-run eighth.
The blueprint for the final two months was to have Tanner Houck and Whitlock are multi-inning weapons capable of closing games out, with Schreiber acting as the set-up man. But then Houck went on the IL with a lower back injury and remains sidelined indefinitely. He's set to see a spinal specialist Monday, which doesn't offer much optimism, and since this involves a disc, it wouldn't be surprising for him to be shut down for the remainder of the season. Either way, he's not going to be available to the Sox for some time.
That leaves Cora, again, with two choices in games in which the Sox are tied or slightly ahead.
At the deadline, it seemed odd that the Sox chose not to augment their bullpen. Even with Houck then healthy and Whitlock and Schreiber in supporting roles, the Sox could have benefited greatly by the acquisition of a veteran reliever. Nearly every contender around the game obtained bullpen help; the Red Sox were the exception.
With the benefit of hindsight, the failure to land additional relief help now seems irresponsible. It's almost an article of faith that teams with a chance to go to the postseason make moves to bolster their bullpen. In the American League alone, the Blue Jays, Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Astros and Mariners all made upgrades of some sort.
The Red Sox, ironically, traded away lefty Jake Diekman, though the latter could be judged addition by subtraction.
It helps that both Matt Barnes and Matt Strahm have each returned from lengthy IL stints. Barnes has looked better of late, with a more lively fastball and a welcome return to his biting curve. But he's still not pitching at the level he showed in the first half of last year and his one-out walk prior to Schreiber's entry into the game proved highly costly.
Quality teams have multiple late-inning choices. For the time being, Cora has two. And one, as demonstrated Sunday night, has overworked and ineffective at a time when the Red Sox have no margin for error.