Final Score
Red Sox 2
Rays 5

Bats Go Silent: As much as the Red Sox starting pitching is struggling, the biggest concern right now might be the team’s inability to hit in the clutch.

Only 2-runs scored is bad enough, but leaving 14-runners stranded against the “immortal� Casey Fossum and a crew of very hittable Tampa relievers is not going to win you very many ballgames.

I’d like to be able to attribute this to Coco Crisp’s bat missing from the top of the lineup. I’m pretty sure once their leadoff hitter is back, the Sox will be able to muster enough offense to win a lot of games. (It doesn’t take much help for Big Papi and Manny to carry an offense) However, there has to be an uneasy feeling about the production from the bottom of the order right now. There are just too many easy outs.

We all hear how pitching wins championships, and that’s true when you add this qualifier…pitching AND clutch hitting. If pitching alone were enough, the Houston Astros would have won 2 World Series by now, and the 2002 Angels dynamic duo of Bartolo Colon and Jarred Washburn would have more empty space in the jewelry box.

And that’s assuming, of course, that the Red Sox pitching is good enough to get them to the post-season…a big IF right now.

Do the Sox have enough offense to get the job done this year? Will all be well when Coco returns? Am I just too negative right now?