Tag Archives: brandon inge

2008 Season, Injuries, Spring Training, Trade Rumors

Brandon Inge might have been misquoted…

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inge-triples.jpg
Inge connects for RBI Triple. credit TheCouga

Yes. It’s another Brandon Inge story. Inge may yet be the Tigers back-up catcher when the season begins because it became clear today that Vance Wilson won’t be ready. And backpedaling from his Sunday statements that rose the ire of many (including your local blogger), Inge is amenable to catching.

He told Danny Knobler today that he regretted how his comments about catching sounded. He also said he had no problem catching.

Jason Beck follows with a report from a radio appearance by Al Avila. Beck had this quote from Avila:

“Brandon came in actually today and talked to Jim [Leyland]. He felt that he was misquoted in the newspaper, things were taken out of context and he actually came in today and said that he’s willing to catch. From his point of view today, he’s expressing that the way that things that were written weren’t exactly the way he expressed it, he was just frustrated that one game but if he’s going to be with the Tigers he’ll be happy. At this point you can count on Brandon Inge being a Detroit Tiger and he’ll catch when we need him.”

Considering that multiple reporters came with the same quotes makes me think he was accurately quoted. As for the comments being out of context, I don’t really know what the context could have been. However the text may have not captured the sentiment. Without hearing it there’s no way to know either way. But it does seem consistent that he was speaking at the peak of frustration. At least their is recognition on Inge’s part that what he said wasn’t good.

Regardless, the money part of the quote comes at the end when Avila declares we “can count on” Inge as a Tiger. Is the trade pursuit over or is it simply that fans should count on him not to complain?

2008 Season, Injuries, Pitching, Trade Rumors

Bullpen woes spawn trade talk

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Jon Paul Morosi reports that the Tigers bullpen headaches have the team talking trade. Morosi notes that there have been “general discussions” with the Cubs. Chicago has become a favorite trading partner of Dombrowski with the two clubs completing five trades during DD’s tenure.

Morosi notes that the Cubs may be interested in a right handed hitter who could play center. Like maybe Inge. There is the Alan Trammell factor and a recommendation from the bench coach could come into play.

MLB Trade Rumors throws out the name Ryan Dempster as a potential target. Dempster will turn 31 and make $5.5 million this year, so for 2008 anyways the salaries would work out. Dempster fanned 7.43 per 9 innings last year while walking 4.05 per 9 and posting a 4.51 FIP. In other words he’s a poor man’s Jason Grilli (7 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 3.85 FIP). Well, with some saves.

As for the current bullpen candidates, well, umm, yeah:

  • Matt Mantei’s arm went pop and he’s retiring and was released
  • Fernando Rodney threw for the first time today in a couple weeks. He made 15 throws from 60 feet. But that doesn’t provide a lot of hope at this point given his history.
  • Francisco Cruceta still hasn’t made it into the country.  At this point I wonder if the Tigers could get him through waivers.
  • And Todd Jones was rocked today for 6 runs in an inning.  But that’s probably less of a concern at this point.
  • At least Denny Bautista has looked good in his limited time with 3 scoreless innings.
  • I find it interesting that Yorman Bazardo has only thrown 1 inning. I thought he’d be a strong candidate to make the team given his option status.
Players

Remember when Inge wasn’t talking?

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Brandon Inge, who keeps saying he just wants to play everyday, gets a chance to play and complains about it.

“Catching right there absolutely reinforces that third-base is my all-time love,” Inge said. “It’s not even a question. If it came down to it, where I was just catching, I’d have to find a way to separate it. I don’t know if I can, because I take too much pride in the catching aspect.”

and

“I’m a much better hitter this year than I have been in a long time,” he said. “That feeling that I got today was much more of a downer feeling. Don’t get me wrong: The actual catching part of the game [was] fun. It was awesome. But what fires me up is the offensive part. It’s very frustrating to me.

“It’s a fine line. I’m not saying that I’m frustrated about them making me catch. It’s frustrating because the way I feel offensively, and then how I feel catching offensively. It’s two completely different things. My mind’s not in it. Mentally, if you’re not into hitting, you’re not going to hit. Especially with the game plan I have now offensively, it’s tough.”

I had no problem when Inge didn’t speak to the media in the aftermath of the trade. He didn’t demand a trade, but in a conversation with Dombrowski he stated his preferences. I had no problems with those preferences. I’m sympathetic to the fact that he didn’t want to become a role player at this point in his career. I appreciate the fact that he wants to play everyday and would be disappointed if he was “ok” with a bench spot. He, like the majority of athletes, has a tremendous amount of confidence in his abilities. Again, no problem there.

I don’t begrudge him his contract and I’m not going to tell him that “he should feel fortunate” because who am I to say how someone should feel? He was lucky to be in the situation he was, playing for a really bad team that really didn’t have other catching options. Most would have been relegated to AAAA status.

I railed against those that said he got the contract based on one good year because he actually strung together 1800 at bats where he was an adequate hitter (774 OPS).

But these quotes were enough to put me over the edge. Stop talking Brandon and play.
Continue reading Remember when Inge wasn’t talking? →

2008 Season, Spring Training

D-Train rockin’ the D against C.C.

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Dontrelle’s Spring Training Debut
credit Deran @ lftblog.com. Click pic for more.

While a game the first week of spring training probably means little, you can’t help but wonder if today’s 3-3 10 inning tie between the Tigers and Indians could be an indicator of how the 2008 season will transpire for these teams.

Of more immediate importance today was the debut of Dontrelle Willis in a Tigers uniform. Dontrelle was admittedly nervous at the start of the game. Willis allowed three hits, including a homer in two innings of work. But the reports were positive with Leyland complimenting Willis’s fastball and Willis tipping his cap to Ben Francisco who’s homer came on a good pitch. No word on whether Willis was using his full repertoire of if he was focusing on fastball-change as the other starters have done in their first appearances.

Other notes:

  • Brent Clevlen made a couple of nice plays in center field, at least according to Dan and Jim on the broadcast.
  • Speaking of Dan and Jim, they gave listeners a little bit of a scare saying that Miguel Cabrera limped to the bench after a ground out. They later clarified saying that everything was OK, but jeez. Don’t scare us guys.
  • I don’t put a lot of stock in spring stats, especially for established players. Like I’m not worried that Carlos Guillen doesn’t have a hit. But it is worth noting that Brandon Inge has only made 2 outs over 4 games. He’s 3 of 5 with 4 walks.
  • It was the locks for the roster that gave up the runs today with Willis, Todd Jones, and Tim Byrdak all surrendering a run on multiple hits. But it was a solid outing for Denny Bautista who fanned one and allowed a lone hit in his 2 innings.
2008 Season, Spring Training

Play Ball

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Realish, live, Tigers baseball today. It’s the annual spring training kickoff against Florida Southern. The game is 1:05pm. Todd Jones gets the start, and most of the regulars will be playing for only an inning or two. There’s no broadcast, but there is a live box score at the Florida Southern site.

Miguel Cabrera homers against Florida Southern

POSTGAME: Well, the offense seems to work. The above photo was taken by Deran of Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog (click the picture for more from today’s game) and it is Miguel Cabrera smacking a missile to center field. The ball hit off the top of the batter’s eye which is located beyond a fence that is 420 feet from home plate.

It was the second homer of the inning following a two run Placido Polanco shot. The Tigers offense rolled up 17 runs including a solo homer from the beleaguered Brandon Inge. Mike Hollimon, my choice for utility infielder I’ll have you know, hit a 3 run jack of his own, to go with a double. In all the Tigers had 5 dingers with Scott Sizemore adding one to his two walks.

Jeff Larish had two hits and two walks while Freddy Guzman had a 3 for 4 day with a triple.

Jordan Tata was charged with all 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings and he didn’t help his cause with 3 walks.

Yes, the Tigers are projected to have one of the best teams in the majors while Florida Southern is a college. The Tigers were supposed to win big. I’m just happy to have a post game report to do, and I’m happy that the good guys did what they were supposed to.

Detroit 17 Florida Southern 4

2008 Season, Spring Training

Men in uniforms

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Brandon Inge on first day of Spring Training
credit Roger DeWitt

The first day of official workouts. Now we’re rolling.

Link round up

Catching up with Inge – Detroit Tigers Insider – MLive.com
A TALE OF TWO CATCHERS
Jim Leyland addresses Brandon Inge’s future with Tigers
Leyland isn’t concerned about lineup, is concerned about bullpen
The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Notes: Porcello gets first taste

Inge on Inge and Leyland on Inge

In an effort to move things along and avoid having everyone answer the same questions over and over again, Jim Leyland and Brandon Inge held a mini-presser. The main message wasn’t anything new. Everybody wants Inge to be traded. It may or may not happen. Inge just wants to start and he won’t be a cancer. Leyland also stated that Vance Wilson’s progress wouldn’t be a factor in Inge being moved.

The most interesting quote though came from the Freep article.

“I went to work on my swing this off-season,” Inge said. “My swing was a little long. Cutting down strikeouts is crucial.”

Glad to hear some self awareness.

Remember when PFP was a big deal?

Rick Porcello and Bobby Seay

In non-Inge news the Tigers have some pitchers in camp as well. The first day of workouts means PFP, which was a circus last year.

Rick Porcello was put into Kenny Rogers pitchers-fielding-practice group, and it probably wasn’t by accident. Porcello marveled at Rogers, then again Porcello was probably marveling at quite a bit. He’s not even a full year removed from high school. Most of his friends are making spring break plans while Porcello went south to work out with a major league club.

The bullpen

Leyland is concerned about the bullpen and realizes how important talent evaluation will be this spring

“We have to do a better job than ever of projecting what a guy is going to do (in the regular season). We have to find out everything we can about their personalities and their understanding of what is going on.”

While normally there is quite a bit of flexibility in making some of these bullpen decisions, the option status of many of the candidates means that at least one player will be cut loose. And nobody wants to see the wrong guy jettisoned.

One of those guys in contention, Francisco Cruceta is a late arrival. He’s having visa issues getting into the country.

2008 Season, Injuries, Spring Training

Spring Training day .5 round-up

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Dontrelle arrives at Lakeland
credit Roger DeWitt

While today was officially “Pitchers and Catchers report” day, it was just that. Reporting day. The official workouts don’t begin until tomorrow. Still, the players and beat writers are all in town so the stream of news has started to flow.

The links to the stories are below with my comments to follow:

Beck’s Blog: Happy Reporting Day
Det News: Leyland – Strong possibility Inge will get traded
Det News: Tigers catchers Wilson aims for mid-March return

Opening Day starter

It’s the first-ish day of spring training so of course it is time to find out who the Opening Day starter will be. Leyland is leaning towards Justin Verlander which really is who it has to be isn’t? I don’t think there’s much mystery that the rotation will be Verlander-Rogers-Bonderman-Willis-Robertson. Rogers will be sandwiched between the two righties and Willis and Robertson will fill out the 4 and 5 spots.
Continue reading Spring Training day .5 round-up →

2008 Season, Roster Management

Why Ramon Santiago

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I don’t get it. It seems as if Ramon Santiago is a lock to make the roster but I can’t figure out a good reason why. Lynn Henning said that Santiago’s job is the safest of the bench candidates. Danny Knobler also has Santiago slotted into the bench as an automatic. But should it be a given? Shouldn’t Santiago’s spot be tenuous at best?

I don’t enjoy writing these types of posts. The posts where I spend a few hundred words talking about why a player shouldn’t be with the team. I’m the type who is usually rooting for people, and this is the opposite of my normal tone. But Santiago simply shouldn’t have a guaranteed job on a club of this caliber.

I’ve already looked at the roster crunch and when I drew up my bench it was pretty easy to leave Santiago in Toledo. The Tigers have a back up shortstop in Carlos Guillen, who would be perfectly fine there on a limited basis. They have a back-up second baseman in Ryan Raburn. They have a back up third baseman in Brandon Inge. Aside from designated sacrifice bunting duties I fail to see what Santiago brings to the table.

He is often referred to as a defensive whiz, and admittedly he does look silky smooth in the field with a plus arm. But looking at advanced defensive metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating, Santiago rates fairly poor. From 2003 to the All Star break last season Santiago was -23 runs per 150 games at second base and -28 runs per 150 games at shortstop. The data is far from conclusive because of Santiago’s limited playing time. Still, this is aggregated over several season so it can be dismissed either.

Offensively Santiago brings little other than the aforementioned bunting ability and some speed as a pinch runner. For his career Santiago is a 231/294/306 hitter which is good for an OPS+ of 63. For those unfamiliar with OPS+, 100 is an average player. Inge, who’s offensive struggles have been well documented is an 85 OPS+ for his career.

The role he would play on the team would be as a sub and defensive replacement. The are more capable subs already on the roster, and as a defensive replacement who would he be replacing. He wouldn’t go in for Polanco, and I don’t see him usurping Edgar Renteria in the late innings. And in the even rarer case where Miguel Cabrera is lifted in the late innings that spot has to go to Brandon Inge.

The biggest reason for keeping Santiago is that he is out of options. However, Santiago has passed through waivers on several occasions and I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t make it through again. I’m generally in favor of hording talent and playing the options game when everything else is equal (see Zach Miner getting the short option straw), but everything else isn’t equal this time. Ryan Raburn is the far superior player. His arm matches Santiago’s, and while he can’t play shortstop he still offers Leyland flexibility. And while I don’t expect Raburn to repeat his 304/340/507 line from last year, I think league average production is a reasonable assumption.

I know that Jim Leyland likes Santiago, but that hasn’t assured him a spot on the roster in the past. Santiago didn’t break camp with the team last year when Leyland chose the beleaguered Neifi Perez and Omar Infante in the spring. Even when Perez was suspended, it was Raburn who was promoted and not Santiago. Santiago didn’t get his call until late August when Guillen’s knees just couldn’t take shortstop on a daily basis. Santiago was also sent to Toledo in 2006. While Leyland may like Santiago, I don’t know that he likes him enough to hand him a spot when there are such clear upgrades available.

A trade of Marcus Thames or Brandon Inge would certainly open up a roster spot, but I’d view both moves as unlikely. Vance Wilson not being ready could also clear a spot, at least initially. But it wouldn’t shock me to see the Tigers actually take a 13th pitcher in that case due to the roster crunch in the pen, an area that is much more tenuous for the team than middle infield.

2007 Season, 2008 Season, Defense

Optimal Sub

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For the last few seasons, sabermetrician Tom Tango has conducted a defensive survey called The Fans Scouting Report. I’ve mentioned it in the past, and I’m sure that some of you participated. Essentially fans rate players on a variety of traits. I’m not going to rehash how the Tigers did because Lee has covered that already. I’m going to focus on Brandon Inge (because it’s always good for traffic and comment numbers) and how he can be expected to fare as he moves all over the diamond this summer.

When fans are instructed to fill out the survey, they are told to make their evaluations independent of position. For example don’t compare Curtis Granderson’s speed to that of other center fielders. Compare him to all baseball players. This is relevant because Tango has developed a system to weight the different traits based on their importance to a given position.

The traits that are evaluated are instincts, first step, speed, hands, release, throwing strength, and throwing accuracy. In the case of Inge he rated as follows:

Instincts: 83
First Step: 83
Speed: 68
Hands: 73
Release: 75
Arm Strength: 91
Throwing Accuracy: 62
Continue reading Optimal Sub →

2008 Season, Roster Management

Back-up plans

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The Tigers are fortunate to not have any positions really up in the air when they head to spring training. At least not for the starters. The bench on the other hand has a number of candidates competing for limited spots. Marcus Thames, Brandon Inge, Ryan Raburn, Freddy Guzman, Mike Hessman, and Ramon Santiago are all gunning for what amounts to 3 bench positions. How will it shake out?

Let’s start with some assumptions. These could be wrong, or you may disagree, but this is where I’m starting from:

  • Brandon Inge will break camp with the team
  • Vance Wilson will not have to start the season on the DL
  • Marcus Thames doesn’t get traded

Those assumptions leave very little wiggle room. With a bench of only 4 players that leaves only one spot up in the air.

Position Starter Backup Backup
C Pudge Wilson Inge
1B Guillen Thames Cabrera
2B Polanco ???
3B Cabrera Inge
SS Renteria Guillen Inge??
LF Jones Thames Sheffield
CF Granderson Jones Inge
RF Ordonez Sheffield Thames

The only position where the Tigers don’t have an established player to back-up is second base. I thought about penciling Inge in there, but seeing as he has never played the position and he’ll be busy re-learning to catch, that position provides the least amount of comfort. With that in mind that last spot likely goes to either Ramon Santiago or Ryan Raburn.

The strengths and weaknesses of the bench candidates are below:

  • Marcus Thames: Thames has big time power, and other than 2007 has shown an ability to take a walk. He also has a new contract meaning that Thames is still in the team’s plans. The downside is that he plays the positions lowest on the defensive spectrum and he is another right handed bat. Still, Jacque Jones needs a platoon partner in left field and Thames would be the first choice.
  • Brandon Inge: Unlikely to be moved and both Inge and the team need him to re-establish his value. He becomes very important if Wilson isn’t available.
  • Ramon Santiago: A Jim Leyland favorite for his defense and a switch hitter. Or at least a batter who stands on both sides of the plate. Out of options, but probably not a big risk to be claimed on waivers either.
  • Ryan Raburn: Very versatile and has a better bat than you’ll typically see on the bench. But again, like the rest of the team he hits right handed. He has options which could work against him, though it probably shouldn’t.
  • Mike Hessman: Excellent defender at the corners, but yet another right handed bat. Leyland seemed to take a liking to him, but he has serious contact issues. Short of an injury to a corner player, I don’t see a way the Tigers could justify putting him on the 25 man roster.
  • Freddy Guzman: Guzman is out of options which could work to his advantage. Also to his advantage is that he’s a left handed hitter, and he’s fast. But he also plays outfield where the Tigers have some considerable depth already. He’s out of options though and has an outside shot of coming North, but he seems more like a September call up type of player.

If I’m responsible for the roster, I take Marcus Thames, Brandon Inge, Vance Wilson, and Ryan Raburn given the assumptions above. Raburn would most likely end up thirsting for at-bats as the majority would go to Inge. Still, that bench gives you a pretty solid combination of offensive pop and defensive flexibility. This would require passing Freddy Guzman and Ramon Santiago through waivers though. Santiago has cleared a number of times and I don’t see that being a problem. As for Guzman, I’m not sure. The Rangers could claim him back I suppose, but I don’t see that as being too big of a concern.

2008 Season, Fan Experience, Injuries, Roster Management

Message to Inge’s BFF

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Dave Dombrowski has some advice for Brandon Inge’s best friend:

“If I was Brandon Inge’s best friend,” said Dombrowski, “I’d tell him ‘you should catch.’ I say that, not thinking he can’t play third, but because to me, this guy can be an All-Star catcher.

Pointed words to be sure and you can dispute his All Star candidacy as a catcher, the message is clear. If Brandon Inge wants to play, be it for the Tigers or anyone else, his willingness leverage his athleticism is what will get him that playing time. Dombrowski also reiterated that he felt that they “owed it to him” to try and make a trade, but short of a trade they are a better club with Inge moving around.

As for his absence at Tigerfest, that was the Tigers choice and not Inge’s. They recognized it would be an uncomfortable situation. Inge, who has been keeping quiet will make an appearance at a Grand Rapids Griffins game on January 18th. He’ll sign autographs starting at 6 p.m. and drop the puck. I’d have a hard time imagining he’d be able to duck the media. (As an aside, the Griffins and Whitecaps teamed up to offer a deal where you get 2 Griffins tickets and 2 Whitecaps tickets for $32. To get the deal go to griffinshockey.com/themenights and use username inge and password griffins0708).

Cabrera’s waistline

In other Inge news, Miguel Cabrera looks good and is excited that there were more people at Tigerfest (8500) than a typical Marlins game.

Sheffield’s rehab

I caught part of Dave Dombrowski’s interview from Tigerfest on 97.1 today and he said that Sheffield’s rehab was progressing nicely and that he should be able to swing a bat.

The Tigerfest Experience

If you were one of the 8,500 who went, I’d love to hear what you thought. The weather was certainly more favorable this year, but I was wondering if it seemed less crowded or better organized.

Players, Roster Management, Trade Rumors

Third baseman for sale

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The Brandon Inge situation has become all consuming for the Free Press and News. In all fairness, things have been pretty quiet on the Tigers beat with the Willis signing the only news since the Winter Meetings. In the first article of substance though, Lynn Henning gets in touch with Dave Dombrowski and it’s looking more and more like Inge maybe a Tiger in 2008. Given the market for Inge, this is probably best for all parties.

Dombrowski has shown a willingness in the past that when it’s time to move a player who has generally been a good citizen, he’ll try to do it in a favorable way. He found decent situations for both Craig Monroe and Mike Maroth last season. When he cut Pena he did it early in the spring to give him more time to find another job rather than stringing him along. I have to believe Dombrowski is doing his best to honor Inge’s wishes to be moved. But unlike those other situations, Inge could still fill a need on the Tigers and probably carries more value for Detroit than any other team. Part of that is Inge’s contract which nobody wants to eat. Part of that is Inge supressing his own value with an awful offensive season in 2007.

Thankfully Dombrowski doesn’t seem intent on dealing Inge for nothing. For Detroit they have nothing to gain by moving him right now. Best case scenario is that Inge can re-establish himself in 2008 and he can be dealt for something in 2009. Worst case scenario is that Inge struggles again and the Tigers end up eating his contract – which is pretty much where they are at right now.

I understand that Inge wants to be a full time player, but he also needs to realize how unlikely that is unless he can show that he can hit like he did in 2004 through 2006. Versatility and general athleticism is what kept him the league when Pudge Rodriguez was acquired and that same versatility is his best hope at finding a starting job at some point in the future. With a DH that hasn’t played a full season since 2005, and a first baseman with creaky knees, there is a decent chance that there will be significant playing time for Inge even as a reserve (not implying that he’d play those positions, but it would create other oppotunities). Not to mention the Tigers might be kind of good this year and even a bench role isn’t exactly a death sentence.

Inge has been staying silent, which I can’t really hold against him. What exactly is he supposed to say at this point? What will be interesting is if Inge still considers himself a member of the team and participates in next week’s Tigerfest and Caravans. A low profile will be hard to maintain starting a week from today for Inge, whether or not he comes North for the festivities.

Tigers: Inge trade tricky

Brandon Inge’s giving spirit connects with local fans