Pencil Smoltz in?

Moments later, he sat at the end of the Red Sox bench, staring into space, likely reflecting about the nine hits and eight runs he surrendered over 3 1/3 innings and the long journey of his comeback that had just reached a head-on crash with reality at Yankee Stadium.

And he was probably wondering, as many of us are, what is next?

“I’m frustrated,’’ said John Smoltz, a refrain he repeated several times during his postgame remarks. “Nobody should have to watch that. I can’t share with you all the thoughts that were going through my mind.’’

Smoltz, 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA, is one of baseball’s class acts, a future Hall of Famer. None of us will ever know the blood, sweat, and agony of the long rehab he put in this offseason from major shoulder surgery just for the chance to pitch one more time, to finish his career on top.

“I knew coming into this that everything was going to be a little more challenging, and I was ready for it,’’ said Smoltz. “So back to the drawing board to make some changes.

“Nobody’s worked harder or tried more things than I have, but this is a results-oriented business. This is an organization that expects high standards and I expect them of myself.’’

In the end, the Braves were probably right in their decision to not re-sign Smoltz, though the execution was barbarian, given the contribution the great pitcher had made to that organization for 20 years.

Now there is no easy way to say goodbye, even for the Red Sox. Do they give him one more chance - out of respect for his great career or simply because they have nobody else? How long is their commitment? Was it specified when the Sox signed him to a one-year, $5.5 million deal (with another $5.5 million in incentives) how long this was going to last? That we don’t know.

Could he turn this around? Smoltz thinks so. In his voice, there didn’t seem to be any sign he was going to quit. If the decision to stop pitching comes, it will have to come from the Red Sox.

Asked if he felt his problems were correctable, he said, “I do. But time may not be on my side. I’ve been here before - not like this - I’ve been in this position and always fought my way out of it.’’

What we do know is that it’s August and the opponents, the Yankees, are relentless. We know that we have not seen even a sneak peek of the John Smoltz of yesteryear, the pitcher once so dominating with an explosive fastball and biting offspeed stuff. We have not seen the Smoltz who could carry a team on his back when it counted most.

Will he be released? Or will the next experiment be out of the bullpen, where he has also been a superstar? Considering the Red Sox have lost Justin Masterson, they could use a seventh reliever (not counting Billy Traber). Is it telling that Smoltz pitched OK for three innings (save for a Johnny Damon solo homer) and perhaps that translates into a good inning or two out of the pen?

There will certainly be a movement this morning to say goodbye to Smoltz. He has not been Curt Schilling reincarnated. But Smoltz deserves the chance to salvage his comeback and reinvent himself as a reliever again, doesn’t he?

Manager Terry Francona was asked whether the Sox would evaluate their contention that they see something in Smoltz that makes them believe he can do it. By the sound of Francona’s answer, it’s at least teetering.

“I know why you would ask that and understand where it’s coming from, but I don’t think that five minutes after a game is the right time to come to a conclusion on that,’’ Francona said.

Newly signed Paul Byrd has been throwing all along, so he won’t be starting at square one as he builds up his innings in the minors. But he has to be at least two weeks away, if not more. Tim Wakefield isn’t quite ready to take Smoltz’s next start in the rotation, and Daisuke Matsuzaka will likely be ready by the end of the month.

Michael Bowden could always take his spot in the rotation, though a National League scout who watched him pitch Wednesday in Pawtucket said he “didn’t look very good at all.’’

The Sox could discover a “weak shoulder’’ and put Smoltz on the disabled list, a roundabout way of ending his Boston career, much as they did 23 years ago when Tom Seaver quietly went off into the sunset.

“I feel horrible with the way the results came tonight,’’ said Smoltz. “Especially what I did to the bullpen. Frustrating night all the way around.

“I felt good coming in but didn’t make pitches when I had to. It’s correctable, but I’m pretty humbled right now. I don’t like to use the word ‘embarrassed,’ but I have a lot of pride and I let us down.

“I know the Yankees are going to win a lot of games, but I had the lead and they jumped on some pitches in that inning and they had another big inning and that was my doing in.’’

Smoltz said he had no idea whether the Red Sox would let him make his next start. He spent some of the postgame time in deep discussion with pitching coach John Farrell, who changed Smoltz’s arm slot for this game.

“I’ll get up tomorrow and try to figure out ways to fix this, but I’m not doing it right now,’’ said Smoltz. “I’m a big enough man to stand up here and say I’m not doing it right now. Nobody feels worse than I do,’’ he said.

He has no idea what the future holds.

“But I just know I can’t be doing what I’m doing,’’ he said.

And when the Red Sox think about it today, they may very well come to the same conclusion.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.