Tigers Need Raburn, So He Will Keep Playing.
By Joe Brower
Ryan Raburn has to be one of the most infuriating players I have ever watched. He can be so inept offensively one moment, and torrent the other. His defensive gaffs have been laughable, but he has produced his share of web gems as well. The most interesting thing about him, though, is he continues to get opportunities.
Much has been made of Raburn’s first half struggles and second half tears, and the numbers back it up. In 2009, he batted .269 with 6 home runs before the break, .310 with 10 home runs after. The 2010 season saw Raburn hit .208 with 2 homers in the 1st half, and .315 with 13 homers in the 2nd half. Last season, he batted .213 before the break, and jumped all the way to .341 after! Raburn is just 2 for 27 through 8 games this year, with no home runs and non RBI’s.
So what is a team to do with this? After the 2009 campaign was over, many fans thought Raburn should be an everyday player, considering his August/September hot streak helped the Tigers reach a game 163 (does anyone remember the 2 homers in game 162?). In 2010 however, the Tigers did not really have a spot for him to play full time, so he continued to get spot starts all over the outfield. He again earned everyday play after heating up in the second half, and also earned the everyday left field job for 2011. It all seemed to be coming together for Raburn, a player whose career nearly ended with a gruesome ATV accident that police said should have claimed his life. But, once again, he struggled to produce in the first couple months of the season, and had to fight his way back to regular playing time when he finally heated up in August.
Coming into the 2012 campaign, Raburn seemed the best option for second base. After all, maybe his struggles in 2010 were do to not playing regularly and looking over his shoulder when he did play? Maybe his slow start in 2011 was due to the fractured finger he played through? So if he is healthy, and knows he is going to play everyday, he will produce, right? Wrong…
To be fair, he has not even had 30 plate appearances yet. Perhaps we should wait for the month of April to conclude before passing judgment. Many fans, however, are calling for a spot on the bench or a trip to Toledo. Neither of these things will happen, though. In fact, I expect Raburn to play nearly everyday for some time yet.
The Tigers need a right handed hitter to be able to play DH or 2nd base most days. Brandon Inge has not earned that spot, Ramon Santiago will never get it, and Don Kelly and Andy Dirks both hit left handed. At the very least, Raburn will continue to play against left-handed pitching (3 of their next 5 will be versus left handers). There are 21 left handed starters currently pitching in the American League, so chances are there will be plenty of opportunities.
Raburn needs to keep playing and everyone else can keep praying that he turns it around sooner that he normally does. If you are like me and you don’t believe Inge can play anymore and that Santiago has a low ceiling, then there is no better option than running Raburn out their most days.