Phillies Insider: The Bats Have Gone Silent!

When will it end?

The Phillies lost their sixth-straight game Tuesday night against the Oakland A's, 5-2.

Jamie Moyer was cruising with a one-run lead before Emil Brown hit a dead-center three-run homer, giving the A's a 3-1 lead. That happened a half inning after Carlos Ruiz grounded into a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play.

This is what happens when your team struggles.

The biggest concern is the Phillies' inability to score runs and hit quality pitching, whether it's against Joe Saunders, Jon Lester or Ervin Santana. Heck, even Joe Blanton, who entered play with a 3-10 record, shut down the Phillies Tuesday night.

Right now, there isn't one player that is hitting well. Chase Utley is really hurting the team. In my last post, I talked about Chase's struggles, but was confident he'd snap out of it ASAP. Now that he's 1-for-29, it's time to start head scratching.

When Chase is hitting well, the Phillies are scoring runs. It puts less pressure on guys like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino to get on base. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell do not feel the burden of carrying the team if Chase isn't struggling.

Right now, the Phillies aren't seeing the ball well at the plate and it's a collective problem.

I believe the Phillies are missing Aaron Rowand now more than ever before. Rowand was the guy who could pick up Howard and Burrell and drive in that runner in scoring position with two out. He's a .300 hitter and a clutch performer and, not to mention, a leader in the clubhouse.

Pedro Feliz and Geoff Jenkins were supposed to be the guys to replace Rowand's bat. Jenkins hasn't had a hit since the JFK assassination and Feliz swings at anything that looks fast. Both of these guys are borderline MLB players, in my book.

My point is this: The Phillies offense isn't as good as it was last year.

There are too many strikeouts. Too many guys look first-pitch fastball and cannot adjust to sliders in the dirt, sinkers or filthy curveballs.

Too. Many. Holes.

The Phillies, we are made to believe, are in search of a top-flight starting pitcher. That's great. I hope, for once, the team will be aggressive and go after an Erik Bedard or C.C. Sabathia.

Just don't forget the starting lineup. It's becoming a pretty big problem.