Ryan Raburn, your Detroit Tigers' sort-of-every-day second baseman, sometimes left fielder will not play the next two days against the Seattle Mariners, according to Tigers manager Jim Leyland. It seems, after the month of May in which Raburn hit .113/.141/.129 and started June hitting almost twice as 'good' (.214/.214/.321), it's finally come time to let him sit the next couple of plays out to think about what he's done [via Jason Beck]:
↵↵↵... manager Jim Leyland announced he’ll sit Raburn on Saturday against Pineda, and possibly Sunday against Felix Hernandez.
↵
"I think he’s pressing a little bit and trying to get in a groove with his swing and probably putting extra pressure on himself," Leyland said. "So I’m going to get him out of there tomorrow and get him away from it for maybe a couple days. We’ll see what happens. I don’t think there’s any question he’s fighting himself."
This move is long overdue and it's a wonder why it took so long. Sure, Raburn's bat has potential to heat up hotter than anyone else on the team save Cabrera and Martinez, but it's like waiting for a hot shower in a house with old, thick-ironed pipes ... and a tiny water heater -- it's increasingly irritating and literally takes forever. The Tigers simply can't keep waiting for Raburn's hot flashes at the cool price of celebrating multiple Mendoza History Months.
↵For what it's worth, Raburn is 0-for-5 in his career vs. Pineda and Hernandez combined.