Red Sox News & Links: The Kyle Barraclough Game

So, about last night. . . It’s confusing that Kyle Barraclough, a 33-year-old who was playing independent league ball a few months ago and who wasn’t particularly effective in AAA, was brought in with the lead against the Astros in the first place, and then left out there even as it became apparent very quickly that he would not be effective. The strange bullpen usage has led to all sorts of speculation about whether Alex Cora may have been trying to send a message, was ready to give up on the season, or just plain blacked out. But according to one report, the medical staff informed Cora that almost no one other than Barraclough, Chris Martin, or Kenley Jansen was available out of the bullpen last night. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

How did the pitching staff get to the point where Kyle Barraclough was the only option in what was essentially a must-win game? Well, deciding not to add any pitching at the trade deadline certainly didn’t help. (Justin Turpin, WEEI)

And the problem isn’t just that the pitching staff is overtired, it’s also imbalanced. The Red Sox didn’t have a single left-handed pitcher in the bullpen last night, just a few short weeks after they had too many. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

But frankly, it doesn’t matter who is in your bullpen if your starters can’t give you innings. Chris Sale once again failed to do just that last night and feels bad for what happened to Barraclough in the aftermath. (Gayle Troiani, NESN)

But hey, there was some good news yesterday: Adam Duvall was named the AL Player of the Week after hitting five home runs. Some guy named Mookie won the NL award. (Justin Leger, NBC Sports)

And there’s good news for John Henry, too. He’s about to either add another media entity to his empire or expand a current one. Fenway Sports Group is poised to take over the TV rights for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and possibly the Pirates, too. (Michael Silverman, Boston Globe)