Lethargic

Perfect word to describe the Red Sox right now. A miserable 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay to wrap up the three-game series.

The offense is in a funk, having gotten only 3 hits in each of the three games against Tampa Bay. It's the first time ever the Sox have had three straight home games with 3 or fewer hits. (Think about that.) They miss David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro. With the exception of Jacoby Ellsbury, no else is hitting. It's August, and teams go through this sort of thing.

The Rays pitching in this series was very good, no question about it. The Red Sox starters last night were very good, too.

John Lackey? Forget that 6-0 record his last seven starts. He wasn't horrible today, yeah...

Now the Red Sox head back on the road for eight games: four in Kansas City and four in Texas. Neither place has been a good place for the Red Sox to play in historically.

Let's hope for 4 out of 8.