CRISP TO RETURN IN THE MIDDLE OF MAY

It's going to be about 3 more weeks of watching Willie Harris and Dustin Mohr strike out before Crisp returns to the Red Sox, according to Francona and the Globe. Francona said in Toronto that he expects Crisp to return somewhere in the middle of May.

So far, Crisp's replacements are batting a combined .164 with a .220 OBP, and striking out more than once every three times at-bat. Compare that to Crisp who was batting .333, with an OBP of .385 and striking out once every four at-bats before he got injured.

The offense has struggled this season, scoring only 90 runs in 19 games (4.7 runs per game) compared to last season when we scored 910 runs (5.6 per game). Part of it is the lack of production from center-field.

Lately, the production from Crisp's replacements has been practically nothing. Harris and Mohr combined for an 0 for 12 in the Toronto series, with 6 strikeouts. Crisp's replacements are 3 for their last 35. With Loretta and Varitek slumping, Gonzalez a non-factor on offense, and the center-field spot giving us nothing, we have 4 holes in our lineup. Our pitching has been able to carry us, but we're starting to see some chinks in that armor with Beckett collapsing on Friday, Clement not giving us a Quality Start, and DiNardo looking terrible on Saturday.