Jim Thome is 1 for his last 14, and that lone hit was an infield single. He's also gone a week's worth of at bats without a walk, which used to buoy his OBP even when he wasn't hitting.

As of today Thome is batting .201 with a .332 OBP. For reference, he has a career .407 OBP, and his current mark would be an all-time season low.

With 9 long balls, the power is still there. But the Sox can't continue to "take it on faith" that the 37 year old will miraculously snap out of his slump. History suggests Thome is more of a first half player anyway, before his back and wrist start acting up. Last year was the first since 2003 in which Thome had more homers after the All-Star break than before it.

He's already been dropped to 5th in the batting order, but a more drastic move, like a platoon situation, might be needed in the near future. Ideally, Thome would bat sixth against righties and sit on the bench against lefties, with Josh Fields, who's starting to heat up at Triple-A Charlotte (5 hits, 3 HRs in his last 3 games), getting into the line up.

But numbers be damned, Ozzie Guillen and Greg Walker continue to support Thome.

Walker: "You just have to look at the back of the baseball card, and it says [he's] done it in the past. I've got faith."

Ozzie: "He's doing what he's always done. He's got good at-bats."

The back of Jim Edmonds baseball card says he's done it in the past also. In the present, Thome is old and Paul Konerko is injured. The Sox have scored a total of 4 runs in their last 3 games, and if it wasn't for Carlos Quentin they would have been shut out again and swept by the Angels last night.

Someone needs to step up.