The issue is not simply that Daniel Bard suffered the loss. The issue is that Daniel Bard was once again asked to pitch.

The Red Sox have now played four games, and Bard has been summoned into all of them. He is one of four relievers in the majors who have been asked to work that hard thus far. His usage has been a reflection not only of his significant talent, but also of the absence of trustworthy alternatives in the middle innings for the Sox.

On Friday, the flame-throwing right-hander nearly delivered an impact performance. He came into the game with the Sox clinging to a 3-2 lead, a runner on third and one out (a situation that was a parting gift by Hideki Okajima, who allowed a David DeJesus double and a sac bunt).

Bard walked the first batter he faced, switch-hitter Alberto Callaspo. He then confronted the Royals’ best hitter, Billy Butler, giving the Sox a right-on-right matchup featuring a strikeout pitcher. And Bard delivered the goods, punching out Butler with a slider.

Though pinch-runner Willie Bloomquist stole second to put runners on second and third, Bard seemed a confidence-inspiring option against Royals center fielder Rick Ankiel. But while the flame-throwing reliever unloaded a nasty 2-0 fastball that shattered Ankiel’s bat, the former Cardinals pitcher muscled the ball into shallow center for a decisive two-run single that gave Kansas City a 4-3 win.

The loss fell to Bard, who has now failed to hold leads in consecutive games. Yet he is the least of the Sox’ middle relief worries on the bridge to Jonathan Papelbon.

Okajima gave up his first extra-base hit to a left-hander (DeJesus) since last Aug. 29. He has now allowed four hits and six baserunners in two innings this season. Yet he is viewed as a more reliable setup option than anyone except Bard, given the fact that both Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez have been unimpressive this year after getting progressively worse over the course of last year.

(Delcarmen’s ERA got worse in every month of last year. Ramirez’ got worse in each month through August, then experienced a slight rebound in September.)

The Sox bullpen has taken all four decisions for the club this year. In a pair of instances -- on Wednesday against the Yankees and on Friday against the Royals -- Boston’s relievers have blown late-innings leads. The Boston bullpen is now 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA. The unit appears noticeably thin.

“I have some pretty serious concerns about middle relief — getting to [Daniel] Bard, [Hideki] Okajima and [Jonathan] Papelbon,” Hall of Famer and NESN analyst Peter Gammons said on the Big Show on Friday. “Maybe this is just mechanical with Manny Delcarmen and he will get straightened out and get back to 95 miles per hour. I trust that that can happen. But he and [Ramon] Ramirez had amazing records last year in that their earned run averages went up every single month of the season. We haven’t seen anything from Ramirez that would tell us he is going to be any better.”

The poor performances of that duo down the stretch last year forced the Sox to make a trade for Billy Wagner to bolster the relief corps down the stretch. In the offseason, Wagner moved on to become the Atlanta closer, and in his absence, the Sox appear to be scrapping to find the right pieces to get through the middle and late innings in the early stages of the season.

Of course, it is early and the situation could easily be corrected if Okajima and/or Delcarmen return to form. Even so, the idea that the Sox have an apparent deficiency just four games into the season is noteworthy.

The team features a bullpen unit that was outstanding in the early stages of last season, and that could once again reclaim such a status. But for now, it is a work in progress, and the bullpen’s struggles are coming at the expense of victories.

Here are four other lessons from the Sox’ loss in Kansas City:

--Some records must wait for Wake

--Patience is an elusive virtue for Beltre

--Ortiz is running low on a different sort of patience

--Sox pitchers won't have personal catchers ... but they will have preferred ones

SOME RECORDS MUST WAIT FOR WAKE

At 43 years, 250 days, Tim Wakefield set a Red Sox record as soon as he stepped on the mound as a starter on Friday night. He immediately became the oldest starter in team history, surpassing a record that was previously set by David Wells in 2006.

And Wakefield delivered a performance that was little short of brilliant. His knuckleball danced in spectacular fashion, limiting the Royals to two runs (on back-to-back homers in the sixth inning – one of which came, much to Wakefield’s chagrin, on a mislocated fastball to Kansas City masher Billy Butler) on six hits and a walk. He struck out six, his second highest strikeout total since the start of the 2009 season.

But the bullpen’s struggle denied Wakefield a win, a costly failure in the pitcher’s race against time and the Sox’ record book. After all, the knuckleballer has made little secret of his desire to surpass Roger Clemens and Cy Young, who share the team mark of 192 career wins in a Boston uniform.

Wakefield remains 17 short of those two, and each win is precious. He is with the Sox on a two-year deal that he has suggested could be the last of his career. Especially given that there is some uncertainty about his future in the rotation once Daisuke Matsuzaka returns from the disabled list (a problem that could well work itself out, given the frequency with which starting pitchers end up getting injured), each opportunity for a win for Wakefield is precious.

To put the rarity of Wakefield’s pursuit in perspective, consider that only 39 pitchers since 1901 have won at least one game in or after their age 43 season. Only 10 hurlers have won as many as 17 games after their age 43 season, and only six have won 17 or more games in the two-year span from ages 43-44.

Wakefield was less concerned about that historical record than about the fact that the Sox have now lost three straight.

All of that said, perhaps the most notable element of Wakefield’s night was not the opportunities missed or even the Sox’ losing streak, but instead the fact that Wakefield left his team in an excellent position to win. His performance offered a glimpse of the form that made the knuckleballer an All-Star last year, and served as a reminder that he is not merely a placeholder in the rotation.

PATIENCE IS AN ELUSIVE VIRTUE FOR BELTRE

On the one hand, Adrian Beltre has five hits in his first 15 at-bats, good for a .333 average that suggests a nice start to his Red Sox career – particularly given that he played a key role in the Sox’ only win of the year. But beyond that, his offensive approach has seemed a curious one.

It is not just that Adrian Beltre has yet to take a walk in his 16 plate appearances this year. He hasn’t come close.

He has yet to reach a three-balls count this year. In his fourth at-bat on Friday, he lined a single into center on a 2-0 pitch – just the second time he’s gotten to a two-balls count this year.

Here is the rather amazing breakdown of the counts when he put a ball in play thus far this year:

0-1 count – 3

0-2 count – 1

1-0 count – 2

1-1 count – 1

1-2 count – 4

2-0 count – 1

2-2 count – 1

Beltre is now averaging just 2.69 pitches per plate appearance, third fewest in the majors.

It is, of course, far too early to make sweeping assessments of what kind of a hitter he is, and whether this has simply been an unusually aggressive period. J.D. Drew, after all, had not walked in the first three games of the season against the Yankees. Beltre’s 3.77 pitches per plate appearance in his career is actually slightly more than the big league average (3.75) during his time.

Even so, his on-base percentage has been below league average in 10 of his 13 seasons in the majors. And thus far -- again, in an incredibly brief sample of games -- he has shown a willingness to expand the strike zone with an aggressive approach that has been atypical for the Red Sox lineup under Theo Epstein.

It has also been noteworthy to see where Beltre has hit the ball on the field. He has put 14 balls in play this season, and all but two of those have been either up the middle or to the opposite field.

While there was some expectation that he would benefit significantly from relocating from Safeco (a frustrating environment for right-handers) to Fenway, Beltre suggests that his best power stroke is gap to gap. He crushed a flyball just in front of the bullpen in right-center during the Yankees series. The ball might have been off or over the wall in other parks, a reminder that his new home does not guarantee an offensive boost.

Beltre reflected on that fact in his interview on Friday’s pre-game show.

“Normally, when I’m going right, my balls are right-center to left-center. According to Fenway, that’s not probably the best spot. Hopefully this summer, those balls I hit to the wall might be a little farther than that.”

ORTIZ IS RUNNING LOW ON PATIENCE OF A DIFFERENT SORT

David Ortiz did muster a double on Friday, dunking a ball into left field against the shift being employed by the Royals. But he struck out twice, including a controversial sixth-inning punchout on a check swung, and in the process, he gave some indication of the frustrations of the early season.

Ortiz, who had earlier engaged in some chatter with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook about his interpretation of the strike zone, became animated when Estabrook rung him up on the check swing without consulting the third base umpire in the sixth. The Sox slugger ended up getting tossed for the eighth ejection of his career.

The outburst that prompted the ejection was fairly brief, and wasn’t exactly an eruption of epic proportions. Even so, it is easy to look at such an incident – particularly in conjunction with Ortiz’ expressions of frustration both on the field and with reporters during the Yankees series – and conclude that, Ortiz’ protestations to the contrary, his early struggles (.143 average, .414 OPS) are indeed weighing on him.

“He is sensitive and he is embarrassed. Most guys are, most players are,” Gammons said on the Big Show. “When he was really great, I don’t think I realized how much he is like everyone else in that he is very insecure.”

SOX PITCHERS WON’T HAVE PERSONAL CATCHERS … BUT THEY WILL HAVE PREFERRED ONES

Jason Varitek will catch his first game of the season on Saturday, giving Victor Martinez a night off in front of Sunday’s game. The rationale seems plainly apparent.

Varitek will catch Josh Beckett, the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter who makes no secret of his comfort throwing to the Sox captain. Beckett has a 3.77 ERA in his four years (and 105 games) of partnering with Varitek.

Meanwhile, Beckett has a 7.71 ERA in his four games spent throwing to Victor Martinez. While the two had a chance to improve their mutual comfort level thanks to a full spring together, all things being equal, the presence of Beckett on the mound represents a good opportunity for Varitek to get into the lineup.

That setup will also prevent Varitek from being paired with a pitcher who has struggled with the Sox captain behind the plate. By resting Martinez on Saturday, he will be available to catch Clay Buchholz on Sunday.

Buchholz and Martinez clicked last year, as the young right-hander had a 4.34 ERA while working with the Sox’ everyday catcher. In contrast, Buchholz has a 5.59 career ERA with Varitek behind the plate, and – aside from his no-hitter in 2007 – Buchholz has often struggled to get on the same page as Varitek in terms of pitch selection.

Manager Terry Francona has said that the Sox will follow a somewhat more traditional approach with their backup catcher as they have in the past. Rather than having a backup catcher paired with Wakefield, Varitek can work with anyone on the staff.

Yet within that job description, the Sox are clearly also planning on using common sense. And so, the Sox will try to keep Varitek from working with Wakefield (the two were last paired in a shaky inning in the 2004 ALCS), and there will almost certainly be a preference to have Varitek avoid working with Buchholz when possible.