Baseball can be a cruel business.

Ryan Raburn found that out again, first hand, when he arrived at the ballpark on Wednesday morning for the Tigers' day-night doubleheader against the Yankees.

If you'll remember, for the first time in his career Ryan reported to training camp this spring knowing that he had a job in the big leagues, that he was on the team.

That good feeling lasted five weeks.

On Wednesday, upon arriving at Comerica Park, Raburn was summoned to Jim Leyland's office and ordered to report to Toledo.

Raburn's only crime? Having an option left --  which meant the Tigers could demote him to the minor leagues for 10 days without fear of losing him forever.

So Raburn became the fall guy, a victim of circumstances, temporarily lopped off the roster to make room for relief pitcher Alfredo Figaro.

He looked devastated as he changed out of his uniform back into street clothes and departed, before most of his teammates arrived at the ballpark.

"I'm not happy about it either," Leyland admitted. "I feel terrible. It's nobody's fault. This is one of those circumstances where a guy who doesn't deserve to go down has to go down

"Somebody gets screwed. It's a shame. It's a crying shame. But that's the way it works. We did what we had to do."

The blame belongs with the Tigers' starting pitchers. Their repeated failure to last the desired six or seven innings has put a tremendous burden on the bullpen.

"We had to have pitchers," Leyland said. 

"If we don't, our bullpen will be at the Detroit Medical Center by June 15, if things don't change."

The downside of Wednesday's decision, in addition to Raburn's disappointment, is the fact that the Tigers now have just three reserves, Ramon Santiago, Don Kelly, and back-up catcher Alex Avila, on the bench.

Leyland said, in all likelihood, Raburn will be recalled in 10 days. "That's not etched in stone, but it looks like he definitely deserves to be the guy coming back," the manager said.

To make it easier on Raburn, he was told he doesn't have to report to Toledo until Friday or Saturday. "Hopefully, he will have a very short stint down there," Leyland said.

Not that that made Raburn feel any better Wednesday.