Boesch Continues To Bat Second
One day, Brennan Boesch will bat in the middle of Detroit's order.
That day, however, will not be coming this season.
Jim Leyland had a chance to bump Boesch down to third, or fifth, in the absence of DH Victor Martinez for the series finale at Kansas City, won by the Royals, 4-3, to avoid a series sweep.
Martinez was held out due to a left knee injury suffered Saturday night.
Leyland opted to cram as many right-handed batters into his lineup as he could and inserted Ryan Raburn into the third spot in the order, playing him at third base over switch-hitting Wilson Betemit,
Boesch has bounced around the lineup, generally hitting sixth after Martinez. But with the return of Carlos Guillen after the All-Star break, Boesch has hit second.
"Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone," Leyland said. "He'll be playing long after I'm gone, so I don't know what'll happen eventually.
"But at the same time, I think if it's not broke, don't fix it. Right now, he seems to feel comfortable in that spot, and he has had a track record of doing pretty good against lefties. So why mess with it? Let the kid settle in there."
Boesch entered the game batting just .220 with a .662 OPS this season from the second spot. Since moving to second full time, however, his average was .266 with an .808 OPS.
Leyland chose his DH for the day, Magglio Ordonez, to hit fifth so as to keep Carlos Guillen and Jhonny Peralta in their comfortable spots.
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