There may be no bigger polarizing figure during the baseball season in Detroit than Brandon Inge.
A small vocal group of people say he's saved countless runs and errors by his ability in the field. I have never denied that. Inge came into the Tigers system as a shortstop, and he has been able to transfer those talents to third base (in-between duties behind the plate, of course).
He's been eating hitting coaches alive, however, ever since he came up to the parent club, topped by last year's embarassing .197 average. What drove most people batty (sorry for the pun) is that he opined no one was giving him a chance to succeed.
Well, he is the most seasoned Tigers player, going into his 11th year with the club, and except for maybe 1 1/2 seasons, has never hit well. Inge currently leads the all-time Tiger list in strikeouts, meaning a lot of rallies were short-circuited.
Inge has been willing to try second base in an effort to continue his Tiger career. I give him kudos for that, and have noted that, defensively, he's taken to second base quite well. "If he hits, if he hits," they say.
Now I'm assuming he'll get a chance to redeem himself at third for the next couple weeks, with Miguel Cabrera being held out of the lineup until about Opening Day.
It makes me glad in a way that they kept Inge, and that he elected to stay with the club last year when they demoted him to AAA Toledo. Any hot-shot 3B prospects in camp are not likely to go north with the club come April. So the Tigers now have a 2-week window where it can be business as usual at third base.
And hopefully, no complaints (or pressure) from the incumbent.
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