When an established, important hitter goes into a slump, it's customary to give him a day off against a tough pitcher. Perhaps dropping him in the order for a game or two can help. However, teams don't completely run away from those guys.
The same mindset is a bit more difficult with relievers. Their slumps are incredibly glaring and sticking with a swooning late-inning arm can be a dangerous road.
For now, it's one the Red Sox will stay on with Matt Albers.
"His ball still has a lot of life on it. He's pitched a lot of good games for us," manager Terry Francona said after Albers lost a lead Saturday night in a five-run outing at Kansas City. "We're not going to run from him. We're going to try to get him back on a roll."
If that's the case, Francona will be using Albers in another high-pressure situation soon, despite the fact that the right-hander has given up 11 runs in eight innings this month after tossing 13 1/3 scoreless in July.
With the regular season nearing the end, it's not a great time to tinker too much with anything. For Albers, who allowed just one run in 19 outings before August began, it's a matter of sticking with what has worked in the past.
"I feel fine physically, and mentally I feel good. It just comes down to execution," he said Saturday night. "It's a fine line. You definitely want to improve but you don't want to be making complete changes. Other than that, I feel good … just not quite where I need to be."
The man behind the plate Saturday said it could just be a typical late-summer swoon, something out of which Albers will soon emerge.
"It's August; these guys have been run down," Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "We're getting to that point now where we just need to get through this month, get through this road trip and we'll be OK. But I didn't see anything out of the ordinary [with Albers]. I thought he looked good."
Although the reference to a reliever being "run down" does not engender much confidence, there may be precedence for Saltalamacchia's assessment. In 2009, Albers had an August stretch in which he gave up 16 runs in just six innings, but followed it up by allowing just one in his next 8 2/3 out of the Baltimore bullpen. Last year, there was a slump that began late in July and carried into August in which the 28-year-old was reached for eight runs in nine innings. That came before a scoreless streak of 7 2/3 frames.
Much of that came in low-leverage situations for a losing team. Neither the highs nor the lows are as notable in that regard. Still, there may be a turnaround coming soon, and Albers knows what he needs to do to make that happen.
Albers fell behind four of the five batters he faced Saturday before issuing an intentional walk to the sixth and exiting the game. The one man he did not fall behind was Chris Getz, who singled on the first pitch he saw to drive in the tying run, spoiling Tim Wakefield's bid for 200 wins.
"It comes down to, I've got to work ahead in the count," Albers added. "I've got to throw strike one."
Sounds simple enough. If the one-time stalwart cannot make that fix, however, what are the other options?
Well, Dan Wheeler will not run and hide from a high-leverage situation. He's made his career pitching in them for Houston and Tampa Bay. Also, Wheeler has a 1.47 ERA since coming off the disabled list in May. His scoreless streak is at 11 2/3 innings. When rosters expand in September, someone like Felix Doubront also could get some big outs down the stretch.
But when the Red Sox look back on the best baseball they've played this year, it has involved a prolific offense and a shutdown bullpen with Albers as one of the key cogs. Despite a very rough patch for the righty, they are not ready to turn their back on that portion of the winning formula. At least not yet.
