Evans: Is it time to push the panic button about the Rockies bats?

I can’t believe the biggest question hanging over the Colorado Rockies is: “Will they hit enough?”

Imagine that. The Rockies pitching is the strength of the team. It’s trustworthy. The Rockies hitting is unreliable. It’s their weakness.

Have we all stepped into some alternate universe/Bizarro World?

Nope, it’s real. And it’s a problem.

Let’s deal with the nonsense first.

I don’t want to hear the “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” excuse. What happens in May matters.

The Rockies made the second wild card spot last year by one measly game over Milwaukee. I’m confident the Rockies making the wild card, or hosting the wild card game, or contending for the National League West title will come down to just a few games.

So, don’t tell me 50 games or so in April and May don’t matter.

One other thing. I want this to be a good baseball town. Specifically, I want it to be a good baseball “talk” town.

I want to talk baseball all season long. But, in order to do that, fans have to be willing to ride the roller coaster every day. That means grousing about the hitting, worrying about it, and second-guessing the way Bud Black handles the line-up.

Even if it’s coming fresh off a six-game winning streak. It can’t be just talking about the good things and passing off anything negative as “wait until we see how this plays out by September.”

Being a good baseball talk town means praising the resurgence of John Gray one day and blasting Ian Desmond as a colossal free agent bust the next.

Good. We’ve cleared that up.

Speaking of Desmond, he’s quickly climbing the ladder as one of Denver’s all-time biggest free agent busts. (Don’t worry Kenyon Martin, you’re still on top).

Desmond recently went 0-4 with four strikeouts in a game. He’s been such a disappointment.

This was someone who was a terrific power hitter for years with the Washington Nationals and one make-good year with the Texas Rangers. But while he may be the poster child for underachieving Rockies hitters, he’s not alone.

Carlos Gonzalez. I get it. He’s a fan favorite. I was in favor of bringing him back on a team-friendly deal. But, I don’t understand the loyalty to CarGo that has him still hitting cleanup despite a total absence of power and a low on-base percentage.

I also don’t agree with a strategy that has him in the outfield almost every game at the expense of the development of David Dahl, who needs to play every day.

It looks like Trevor Story is a boom-or-bust hitter who can get hot once in a while but will be a low OBP and strikeout machine.

A friend of mine said once you get past the top three spots in the Rockies lineup, it gets very painful to watch. He’s right.

After Charlie Blackmon, D.J. LeMahieu, and Nolan Arenado, who do you really trust?

There’s way too much inconsistency up and down Colorado’s lineup. There will be stretches where Story, CarGo, or Desmond will get hot. There will be games where this lineup has everything clicking, and they put up crazy numbers. But it’s too hot and cold.

What can Black do?

First, don’t fall into the classic baseball group think that preaches patience and is either deathly afraid of holding guys accountable at the risk of them losing confidence or believes, over time, everything will average out.

Mix up the lineup. Move guys around. Bench guys. Give guys mental health days off. Don’t sit back and wait.

These games matter. Now.