I blamed a loss on Ryan Raburn last Sunday when I probably should not have. Yes, he made three errors, two of them at the most inopportune times, but Detroit’s hitters were 0-16 with RISP. It never should have come to Raburn in the 10th inning, but it did.
I’ll admit, I’m not too fond of Ryan Raburn in general. Never have been. Therefore, when he screws up I’m more than ready to attack. But he’s on the Tigers and when someone is helping the team, I notice that as much as anything/anyone else. Right now, Ryan Raburn is due a little bit of respect from Bobby B.
After Friday night’s game, in which he had two solo home runs in the first three innings, Raburn is hitting .364, has 4 HR, and a .400 OBP since July 29. Albeit he’s only accumlated 44 at bats since then, it’s still impressive. In fact, it’s the best BA on the Tigers since July 29 of all Tigers hitters who have at least 44 at bats. The next best is Magglio Ordonez who is rocking a .339 BA since July 29 in 58 ABs.
For the season, Raburn is hitting .273 with 10 HRs, and 34 RBIs. That’s all in just 187 at bats, which is a career high for him. Assume there was enough season left to get him 550 ABs (roughly an average for a full season’s worth of ABs), his prorated numbers would be .273 BA, 29 HRs, and 100 RBIs. Not too bad for a guy who’s making near the league minimum at $410,000.
Maybe I’ve been unfair toward Raburn. He’s definitely exceeding expectations and, actually, is a great value guy for the Tigers. He’s producing when given the opportunity to and at a very cheap price. What more could Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski possibly ask from this guy?
Yes, as fans we expect the very best from every player on the field representing our favorite team. However, there are other variables that need to be considered outside of whether or not the player is putting up gaudy numbers at the plate or fielding a ball cleanly every time (Raburn is the king of bobbling fly balls, but for the most part, he makes the plays). I hate on Raburn for not being very good, but I think I need to swallow my pride here:
(gulp) Ryan Raburn ain’t all that bad (gulp).
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