Raburn's the anti-nofrown curse. And I couldn't be happier for him. My over-the-top frustration with this guy stemmed from the fact that I fell prey to his teasing bat once before. When he first came up to the majors in 2007, Raburn made the most of his 147 at-bats, hitting .307 with 27 RBIs and decent pop (.507 SLG). I was hoping he'd get an opportunity the next season. He responded a .236 average. Yet, it wasn't just his lack of timely hitting. He couldn't do the little things. When the team needed a bunt, Raburn would swing away. When the needed a sacrifice fly, Raburn would strike out. And then his fielding... he never had a distinct position. As a minor leaguer, he shuffled around from 2nd base to 3rd and then to the outfield. With the Tigers, he's also moved around, but for the past two seasons Leyland stuck him exclusively in left field. And the dude still leads his position in errors. I could live with his poor batting average if the dude could reliably lay down a bunt and field his position. But he was maddeningly inconsistent.
Last season, as Tiger fanatics know, Raburn turned up the heat in the 2nd half of the season. When it was clear the Tigers were out of contention, Raburn's bat finally came to life. He finished the season with 15 HRs, 62 RBIs and a respectable .280 BA. As a reward, Leyland named him the full-time starter in LF, entering this season. The dude still can't bunt... but he has hit a sacrifice fly this season. So I guess there's hope. At this point, I'd still rather see Boesch and Wells, but I won't throw the remote at the TV with RyRa in the lineup. He's done quite well subbing for Magglio in the 3-spot.
Red Wings
Must give quick kudos to the Red Wings. Despite a horrible start (8 min of penalties in the 1st period), the Wings rebounded like savvy veterans in the 2nd and blistered the Preds for 3 goals. When Pavel opened the scoring with a beautiful wrap-around, it was like the skies parted. The players and fans relaxed. Minutes later, Franzen unleashed one of his patented wristers that caught Bryzgalov off-guard and found the upper 90. Then Rafalski scored. Then Hudler in the 3rd. And the defense held.
There were a handful of untimely turnovers by the defense, but Phoenix failed to capitalize. The turnovers continue to pose problems for the Wings, and I'm not sure it will ever be fixed. It may just be a part of who they are. As fans, I guess we just have to hope the Wings are more opportunistic than the opposition.
Pistons
As Pistonpowered.com said, "We made it." The season is over.
They actually pulled out a win against a disinterested 76er team. I had the chance to watch Hamilton and Prince perform quite well in what had to be their final game in a Piston uniform. As Joko texted last night, it's just a sad, sad end to the "Goin' to Work" gang.
The dude leading the charge at the end wasn't the old guard, though. It was Rodney Stuckey. He continued to pad his stats in meaningless games, as he enters (restricted) free agency. For the final five games, Stuckey averaged a staggering 25 ppg, 9.4 apg, and a .520 FG%. Dumars will likely bring this kid back, but he's got a lot of work to do to repair his crybaby image in this town. The stats are impressive, but the dude doesn't bring wins... and that's all that matters.
In Rick Carlisle's first season, the starting five in his first game was Dana Barros, Stackhouse, Michael Curry, Uncle Cliffy, and Big Ben. There's not a ton of talent in that group. Yet, they won 50 games. It's about chemistry, and which current Pistons will contribute to positive chemistry?
In a telling sign of the times, I'm currently listening to WDFN and the subject is: "Which Piston do you most want to see leave the team?"
*Sigh*
At least the season is over.
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