Inge is on board

E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T!

I would expect that this will stabilize the situation and that DD will still be open to offers for Brandon that would be advantageous to the Tigers.

I'm happiest the most for Brandon himself. I think he absolutely made the best decision for himself, at least at this point in his career.

This is the best news since "The Trade."

--Rich

You guys are right-- this is GREAT news. If Brandon sticks, I think he could be extremely important. Even if they still want to trade him, his market's now bigger than just a third baseman. Man-- this makes my day!

I'll ditto that
E-X-C-L-L-E-N-T!!!!

This is great for Bradon and great for the Tigers

GO TIGERS

Brandon's market is pretty thin. The Phillies just picked up a good field no hit 3B man from the Giants. Pedro Feliz. He hit just over .250 which seems to be a couple of cuts above what Brandon did. Hence the lack of interest from the Phillies. The Giants don't have much at 3B. The fans would love him there but I think the writing is on the wall. He will back up Pudge this year (in addition to everyone else!), and likely will be given a shot as the starting bacstop in '09.
I've said this before, but I think Vance Wilson is finished. Nice guy and always a positive surprise contributor but his body is telling him no can do.

I am glad Inge is staying around the D. Many people may have forgotten how much fun Inge was to watch as a catcher during the dog days of the Tigers. I think Inge could potentially become the starting catcher this year if Pudge is only able to produce numbers like last year. Inge had more RBIS and HR's than Pudge with a lower average. Pudge was one of the least clutch batters for the Tigers last year.

Very good points and I agree gmatt. As Dan suggested 09 for catching might be more realistic. But his fill in roll at catcher this year should be in a greater capacity than Rabelo's last year. So I can agree with both Brent's and Dan's positions here. That is Brandon's market might be a little thin right now but with potentially a very good up side. (Think about what his market would have been last off season). Now he has a chance to get back to that point, and at the same time have a chance to be a part of something very special, which he deserves, being one of the last of the 03 "dog days" boys (good one Gmatt). I don't see him languishing on the bench at all. People will get injured and will need rest. I see Brandon getting no fewer than 300 at bats. If his average goes up, his market value should go up.
Now this puts Santiago, Raburn, and Wilson on the bubble. I think Thames is safe because his power puts him in a different needs category. Santiago and Raburn are two totally different types of player, one an excellent defensive specialist and the other, a guy with a very good bat who can fill in at 5 different spots. Both are valuable for different reasons. I like Vance a lot and I suppose his future hangs on how well he can come back from the surgery. Haven't heard anything here lately in how he is doing. Must confess I don't know much about Jones other than the highlight catch he made last season and that he is a LHB, but I'm thinking he will need to come out of the gate strong or might end up getting lost in the pack which will further change the dynamics. We all agree that it will still take 40+ guys to get the job done, right? It always does.

WAY TO GO BRANDON!! i'm glad you're aboard. You ARE a major leaguer!

If Vance Wilson accomplishes a complete recovery, I definitely want him on the team. I think this guy is a vastly underrated big league player.

That would push Inge out into the field a lot more, and when it comes down to it, let's remember that it's Raburn that has an option. So it's not all that confusing of a situation over who would stay or go.

--Rich

Everyone likes Inge, but the fact is he is overpaid and the Tigers would have to take a big loss if they trade him now. No offense, but he's not a very good hitter. .180, .202, .203, .287, .261, .253, .236 over the past seven seasons for a .241 lifetime.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him as a full-time catcher after Pudge is gone, IF he can contribute a little more offensively. His average is on the way down, however. I hope he finds someone to help him with his approach and has a great hitting year. Then he can get traded and start elsewhere or stay and start here.

But in the end I just don't think it makes sense to confuse his likeability with his ability. These are two different things.

Ah yes, the option. You're right Rich. And Vance was impressive in that 06 season wasn't he. I want him on the team too.
Steve those numbers don't look too good but if, fair or not, you threw out the first 3 seasons, they look much better. Still, there is a progressive decline in the last 4 years.

Okay, so this may be a bit off topic, because I didn't even read the topic, so please do forgive me, but I thought I'd put this out there. For starters, I'm a Cardinals fan, just so you all know, please don't hate me because of that. But I did some research today, and I looked at all the players on the Tigers for 2008, and I'm just going to put this in nice terms, without using profanity, they are stacked, built, dominate, they are going to own everyone who gets in their way this year in the Central, that's just my opinion, but ****, please give hand some of your players to the Cardinals, because you guys scare me this year.

It certianly looks good on paper Crazy, I hope it works out like it should??

Regarding Inge, ya he is probably a bit over paid, however he was given his contract for his 2006 year 27 homeruns and batting somewhere in the 250's. And according to your stats he batted 261 and 287 the two previous years. I guess what I am saying is that I don't think at the time, it was seen as that bad of a contract for Brandon. I think that we all thought that he was on his way. Personally I am really glad that Brandon is here, and I hope it works out for him personally as well. Otherwise I hope he finds the home that he wants. I guess.

Well, Crazy, I think we're going to get that championship that you guys snatched away from us a couple years ago before we start giving players away... ;-) I certainly hope you're right about this year.

I'm very pleased that Inge is going to come back, I was hopeful that he would. I agree that he's going to see a lot of playing time - there will be injuries and we've got a number of older players who'll need rest. It seems that he'll play everywhere *but* third, if Cabrera stays healthy.

matt

Crazy, the Cards could have gotten Brandon Inge instead of Troy Glaus. :-) You're right, though. Barring injuries, this is the kind of team that's hard to beat over the course of a season. Too many sudden rallies that snatch victory from defeat. Whether that translates into postseason success is another story altogether, but I've always thought the goal should be to get to the postseason, then see how the cards, so to speak, fall.

My favorite line in this thread is when Steve said "no offense, but he's not a very good hitter." Interesting twist of words, hey? :-)

Inge demonstrated hitting ability in 2004, 2005, and 2006. After the Tigers came to the forefront in '06, Brandon began drawing more attention and pitchers have made adjustments in their approach to him. It's Brandon's job now to make his own adjustment. Surrounded by so many great hitters and a good hitting coach and sharp manager, you'd think he could accomplish that. Some of the plays he's made at thirdbase remind me of Brooks Robinson, but a ML starter has to hit too.

As you all know, Inge has always been my Tiger. Having said that, I have to say, I am only 'somewhat' happy now that this is a 'done deal' I say that only because Raburn is going to be starting at Toledo instead of where he should be, Detroit. I know Santiago is nice to watch in the field, but as I said before, he can't hit a bull in the arsh with a base fiddle. But, JL likes him so Raburn is out. As far as Wilson goes, he's done...cash him in.

I don't remember the roster numbers here, can we keep Santiago, Thames, Inge and Raburn or does one of them have to go??

Go Tigers!

Hey Ty---I think they can keep Santiago, Thames, Inge and Raburn if they go with 12 pitchers. Raburn is on the bubble unless Wilson is determined to be unfit. That's the only way I see him staying. Of course JL knows there are a couple of LHB in Toledo if need be. Timo and Guzman (remember him?).
Pretty tough to break in from the minors to the big club. We may have given up a lot of talent in the two deals this off-season but realistically there wasn't a lot of room for these guys to edge in sideways anyway. The prospects for promotoion must look pretty intimidating for guys like Larish, Hessman, Clevlen and Perez.

BTW- I think Inge may see some service at 3B. He hit southpaws well last year (honest, he did!) and JL could move Cabrera out to LF on occassion if he wanted to get Brandon's glove in against a LHP. Also if Sheffield can't answer the bell Cabrera would likely DH. At least that is what I would do.

Dan, one of the articles I saw about this (probably on one of the Detroit papers' web sites) mentioned Inge possibly starting in center against lefties. I thought that was interesting. I remember him playing pretty well in the outfield a few years ago, before the move to third...

matt

It was the Free Press:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080129/SPORTS02/801290392/1050

Quoting the above article:

"Though Inge will likely see a significant drop from the 508 at-bats he had last year, Leyland mentioned several ways in which Inge could see playing time: He might fill in at the middle infield positions, start in centerfield against a left-handed pitcher, or serve as the backup catcher if Wilson is unable to start the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Barring an injury to Cabrera, though, Inge is not likely to play much at third base, his favorite position. Leyland said he hopes Cabrera is the team's everyday third baseman "for the next several years," adding that he doesn't expect Cabrera to work in the outfield during spring training.

And Leyland doesn't anticipate using Inge as a defensive replacement for Cabrera when the Tigers have a late lead.

"You don't trade for a young, franchise-type player like Cabrera and then take him out for defense," Leyland said."

matt

Thanks stoner! I guess that clears that up. Makes sense. I don't like the idea of sitting Curtis out too much against lefties though. When he learns to handle southpaws he will be one of the best players (elite) in the game IMO.

I didn't pick up the paper today, I like Bradon's comments. You read some of the national articals and it makes him sound like a malcontent. They say that Inge is "mad, angry, frustrated". What I just read in the paper doesn't sound like that at all. He sounds disappointed and frustrated, but mad, certianly not. Leave it up to the national guys again not to get the story right.

By the way I am listening to the radio today and there is a national guy ranks the Tigers behind Cleveland, Red Soxs, Yankees, Toronto and Angels, he is not giving them much of a chance at all. Intresting huh??

Off Topic...Sheffield!! Sheffield??? How big of a question is he going to be this year?

GK, looks like your national guy didn't actually see these teams play last year. Cleveland? Toronto? I'd say Cleveland is very suspect heading into 2008.

Sheffield: haven't heard much, have we? I assume that's a good thing. I will say that if he's healthy, I want him hitting in the 3-hole with Maggs and MCab 4 and 5. Sheff gets on base a lot and, once there, creates distractions. Pity the pitcher having to deal with Ordonez and Cabrera while this crafty veteran is doing his thing on the basepaths.

Santana to the Mets. Not only do the Yankees and Red Sox not get him, but we don't have to face him at all. This is a boon to all Central division teams.

--Rich

Not Your average lineup...

L .302 Curtis Granderson

R .341 Placido Polanco

R .320 Miguel Cabrera

R .363 Maglio Ordonez

R .265 Gary Sheffield

S .296 Carlos Guillen

R .332 Edger Renteria

L .285 Jaque Jones

R .281 IvanRodriguez

fill in Inge and Thames as needed

Hey, if any of you feel like talking about baseball, doesn't really matter what team to me you talk about, I just like talking baseball, feel free to add me to MSN Messenger.

Well it's a boon to the Central Division teams, except Minnisota. In the short term at least. I think Minnisota got a nice deal for Santana given the situation.

First, I would like to say it is nice to see a few 'fresh faces' join us 'regulars' on this blog. Welcome!

Fishrman, I agree, it isn't your everyday lineup. Pitchers and teams alike are definitely going to fear the offense that is surely going to take place on the field. If we can just keep our pitchers from drinking that injury induced Detroit water we should be good to go in 08'

I can't wait!