The curious case of Brennen Boesch

It's no secret the Tigers have struggled since the All-star break. They took 2 of 3 against the White Sox over the weekend, but it's just too little, too late. The hole they dug with their 7-22 record out of the second half gate is simply too big. No player better represents that struggle than 1st half wunderkind - Brennen Boesch.

Back in those wondrous mid-July days, Tiger fans lamented Boesch's exclusion from the All-star team. His stats were that grand, and Boesch had a legitimate gripe. I was quietly relieved, thinking Boesch would benefit more from the 3 days off. I had seen prior Tiger All-stars completely unravel after the All-star break, as recently as last year's Brandon Inge. (In hindsight, I'm simply astounded Inge actually made an All-star team) I figured Boesch's offensive surge would continue in the 2nd half since he had extra motivation with the All-star snub. Unfortunately, the opposite happened.

On July 9th, I wrote: Tiger fans keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Brennen to hit an Inge-like dryspell. So far, he's stayed hot. He's hitting .341, with 12 HR, and 47 RBI.

The Inge-like dryspell hit... and hit hard. His 2nd half numbers are abysmal - .121 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI. By contrast, another favorite whipping boy, Ryan Raburn, hit .278, 4 HR, 16 RBI in that span. What the heck went wrong? One glance at yesterday's box score might provide one clue. He was hitless in 3 at-bats and only saw 4 pitches. Perhaps to rekindle his earlier glory, Boesch reverted to clobbering that opening pitch. Obviously, teams learned his tendency to bomb that opening pitch and adapted. The previous game, Boesch had 4 at-bats, all strikeouts. He seems to be a step behind. What he needs to do... and what the hitting coaches better be telling him... is that he needs to always be patient. Wait for your pitch. And then clobber it. If you miss it, fine. But the hitting philosophy in the major leagues ain't much different than Little League. If kids swing at pitches in the dirt, they're going to strike out. If they're patient and wait for a pitch over the plate, their chance of success increases dramatically.

That's the Cabrera philosophy. You can tell he waits and waits at the plate. I've never seen such a fantastic 2-strike hitter. Often, he'll fall behind 0-2 and foul off pitch after pitch without ever seeing a ball. He simply protects the plate and waits for the pitcher to throw one where he's expecting it. Now, Cabrera is a one-in-a-million talent, and we can't expect Boesch to mimic his numbers. But he should mimic his approach. I've seen Boesch exhibit patience at the plate. That should be his approach 100% of the time.

He may not get the power back this season. Hitting streaks are simply too fickle. But we've all seen his potential, and the kid should be groomed for a long career as a Tiger. Let this slump be a learning experience as opposed to a testament to his deficiencies. His ability to work out of a slump will be as important a skill as hitting a 3-run bomb. But he needs his help, and that's why the team has coaches. I just hope they're doing their job.