What’s to like about Inge?
Everyone is ganging up on Brandon Inge lately… and I’ll join them. New blog.. have to start somewhere. When the trade went through for Cabrera, fans started saying, “What should we do about Inge? We like him! He’s our favorite player! He’s so cute!”. Now his act is wearing a little thin, and I don’t quite get it.
Last year in spring training, my father pointed across the infield at Inge and said “that guy sucks, i wish they’d get rid of him”. “No” I explained, “he’s a great defender. He gets to balls that other players don’t, and thats why he had so many errors”… basically repeating what every sports writer has said about Inge over the last two years. Well… now I’m eating my words. Inge can’t hit. He’s an above average fielder, probably not an elite fielder. So what if he was an elite fielding third basemen? Doesn’t every team have an elite fielding third basemen somewhere in the organization that can’t hit? Yes.. the difference is most aren’t paying one $6+ million / year. If defense was so important, Ramon Santiago would be starting at short for Detroit AND the all-star team.
Here’s an interesting comparison on last year’s stats. Compare Brandon Inge with Jack Hannahan, who we gave away to Oakland last year:
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Obviously a full year projection may be tough for Hannahan, but keep in mind Oakland’s awful lineup last year… and Hannahan probably makes less then I do. Inge has had a decent 4 year OPS streak (793, 749, 776. 688), but his average has fallen each year as well (287, 261, 253, 236). Obviously these are not numbers that would make anyone think twice about playing Inge over Cabrera… but it does show why he has absolutely no value on the trade market. Every team has an exact player like him… so much so that we gave one away last year, and probably have two more on the farm.
My surprise is why anyone thinks Inge has value as a ‘super sub’. He doesn’t seem to play anywhere else in the infield but third, and he has little experience in the outfield. I can’t believe he is a better CF then either Clevlen or Raburn, no matter what Mr Tiger thinks. On that note, if we wanted a backup outfielder who can’t hit, we’ve got tons of those guys — its called the minors. But lets look at Ryan Raburn’s 2007 stats for a moment:
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Raburn doesn’t appear to walk as often, but his OPS is a very solid 847. Hannahan and Raburn’s numbers point out something very interesting: Inge just doesn’t hit many doubles, and he strikes out a lot — feast or famine. For Raburn… thats basically the sample size you’d expect to see again this year from a sub; you know what to expect in 140ish at bats. For Inge? Who knows. Can’t you imagine him giving the “Its really hard to get myself ready when i’m not playing everyday” line? Doesn’t a productive (and rather silent) Ryan Raburn make a lot more sense as a super sub? It can’t be about money; Illitch has given away too many big contracts this year to worry about $6million from Inge (they just dumped a ton of $$ on career 42-55 Nate Robertson). My guess is they have to be showcasing him for a trade. There is no way I’d go north with that guy. Hell, i’d pass him through waivers and send him to Toledo.
Ok, they can’t pass him through waivers due to his MLB experience, or any team can sign him and we pay the difference. BUT I’D DO IT ANYWAY. Set the tone. You think he’s buddies with the team at this point? Did Sheffield say “you know, i wasn’t sure if i’d like playing for the Tigers, but they have BRANDON F’ING INGE on the team! He’s a winner!”. Not quite.. you hear that about Pudge… Guillen… but not a lot of guys are dreaming of playing alongside the might Inge.
Last thought: How dumb is Brandon Inge?
He went to college… maybe he never took a business course (Note: I went to college and I never took a business course. But I did get an ‘A’ in guitar once). Looking at the points above… every team has a great fielding third basemen who can’t hit… and most have one that can (normally their starter at the major league level). However, most teams do NOT have a catcher that can hit. Why doesn’t Inge tell Dombrowski “Hey, i’ll be your backup catcher this year… give me some at-bats at other positions, and i’ll be your starter next year”. Sound like a good idea? Sure he hates catching… I’ve had plenty of jobs that i hate. But i’d clean sewers for $6million / year. His contract is up in a couple of years… why not try to get one or two more multi-million dollar deals? Teams cough up for catchers that can somewhat hit (they’re paying Pudge $13mil knowing it will be the worst year of his career)… not for 33 year old third basemen (How fast can you say, “inside sales” Brandon?). Your knees should be fine at this point; if you were smart you’d catch for your next contract. You do NOT want to go north either unless you agree to catch; Detroit fans can turn on the good looking college kid just like anyone else (Hellooo Joey Harrington!). So pop a squat behind the plate or keep hitting and get yourself a different colored jersey.