Time to bench him.
Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of. But the dude has fallen off the map since I praised him last Thursday. Raburn's stats during that span:
BA: .111
HR: 0
RBI: 0
BB: 1
K: 11
Yes, folks, that's a shocking 11 strikeouts in just four games. He now leads the majors (passing fellow Tiger Austin Jackson). And to think... we thought Brandon Inge was the strikeout king. Raburn also added an error to stay atop the MLB leaderboard for left-fielders.
The truth is that every player goes through a slump. Raburn, after a fine first few weeks at the plate, earned the right to slump a bit. Yet, these recent at-bats are alarming. He's swinging at pitches way out of the strike-zone. Everything changed for him when the team flew out West. It's like he shattered his Wonderboy bat and can't find the Savoy Special.
Raburn's not alone. The Tigers can't find a fix at the top of the lineup. Austin Jackson's average continues to plummet. He's now hitting .164 with a ghastly .239 on-base percentage. Will Rhymes is only slightly better. He's hitting .226. Inge is now at .208, and Santiago's at .200. The truth is that Miguel Cabrera and, to a lesser extent, Brennan Boesch and Victor Martinez are carrying this team.
Last night, Cabrera and Boesch kept the Tigers in contention until Jhonny Peralta opened the game wide open with a bases-clearing triple. Peralta definitely came through in a clutch situation, and the Tigers desperately need more of that. The team won the game, but the lack of balanced hitting is troubling, especially now that Martinez needs a few games off. No Guillen, no Maggs, no VMart? Yuck. Lord knows what would happen to this team if Cabrera needed a day off... or, gasp, more than one. Leyland might have to pick up a bat.
This may be a downer of a post after a solid 8-3 victory, but I can't see this team moving forward without more production from the top and bottom of the batting order. The successful Tiger teams had a balanced attack. Yes, they can rely on Cabrera to a certain degree. Like, for instance, when facing a pitcher like Cliff Lee. Cabrera can hit everybody. Brandon Inge cannot. But, man, when they're up against a Bruce Chen or Jason Vargas, they gotta make them pay.
Red Wings
In less-worrisome news, the Red Wings won last night. I must admit, I did not think the Wings would be up 3-0. Phoenix is a fine team. To make the playoffs in the West is a massive accomplishment, and it proves Phoenix's quality. Yet, they've been derailed by bad bounces and shoddy goalkeeping. In Detroit, they were even beneficiaries from a handful of questionable calls, resulting in lengthy 5-on-3s. It wasn't enough.
Last night, when Ruslan Salei scored from the point, followed by a Drew Miller deflection, I figured the Wings were living under a lucky star. Those goals from unheralded role-players are back-breakers, and they happened so early in the game. It killed all the Coyotes home-ice mojo. Then, when Franzen scored so effortlessly early in the 3rd, the Wings cemented their status as big brother.
I'm not quite sure what to expect from Phoenix in Game 4, but most teams lay it all on the line. The players always say the close-out game is the toughest. Considering Phoenix's overly physical play backfired in Game 3, my guess is they'll focus on scoring first. Then, if they get that early lead, they'll revert to the massive checking, fighting, and face-washing. It could be ugly.
Props to the Wings for staying out of the box last night. Only 3 penalty-kills, after 7 the prior game. Phoenix did score on 2 of the 3, but it was too little too late.
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