Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Brandon Inge

Inge is a lot moreso like Feliz than Crede. Crede has them both in OPS+ by about ten points, doesn't have all the errors the other two do and still has great range, and Inge is due more than Crede even for this year, not to mention it is a three year pact, so if he busts the Giants bight the bullet. And there are still Giants fans out there who want Inge more.

Like I said above, Inge is more like Feliz than Crede is. He's signed for more money, and has the same OPS+ career as Feliz(he has one point over him, IIRC). Oh, and BTW: Inge's career FP% at third: .956. Feliz: .961. Crede: .968. So even if they are all around the same worth defensively, Crede brings on a lot less unearned runs.

i still love brandon inge.

indefenseofme.blogspot.com

I am a Tigers fan AND an Inge fan. It's too bad all of this is going on. I can't say the Tigers/Marlins trade this winter was the greatest deal, but it should excite the fans who haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet. What I believe would be in the Tigers' best interest (and I'm not alone) is play Inge at 3B and Cabrera should head back to LF. Are we really removing the best defensive third baseman in the league (yeah, I said it) so we can platoon Jacque Jones and Marcus Thames in LF? That doesn't make much sense.

And the only reason people hate on Inge now is because the media won't take their mics out of his face. He's said what everyone else would say, and the media is trying to spin it anyway they can. That's what the media does and people fall for it every time.

(And though I'm an Inge fan, I admit I am not a fan of his facial hair either!)

I like how Inge has handled this situation - unwilling to relegate himself to backup to Tubby McLardo, who will cost the Tigers Pitching staff one run - added to the run Inge saved, that is two per game..........Yes it's tough when you are a .230 hitter....but does anyone here remember Aurelio Rodriguez?....Inge is an athlete, he deserves a starting role with a major league team - rock solid defense, occasional power and a quality man

I think what would be best for both the Tigers and Inge would be to keep him. Get him 350-450 AB's between occasional backup catching with Wilson out, defensively replacing Cabrera, giving Granderson days off against tough lefties. And it's an old team with guys with history injuries like Guillen, Sheffield, Maggs, and not saying it will happen, but if someone goes down he's first in line for a starting role. By this time next year, Jones should be gone and if he can prove himself worthy, he should bump Cabrera to left field for a huge defensive upgrade or start at catcher, but he obviously doesn't want to do that. I actually think he is quite a good player but had a down year and is a bit overpaid.

As a Cubs fan I can relate to the question of what to do with players on your team especially when dealing with Jacque Jones. Seriously, im sorry you guys have to deal with this clown this year.

jza1218 said:

"Play Brandon Inge at 3B for his superior defense to Cabrera. Move Cabrera to DH and play Sheffield more often in LF (sit him when necessary though) and put Jacque Jones on the bench."

You hit the nail on the head right there. Put Jacque Jones on the bench where he belongs. You guys haven't even had to suffer through a single game with him in your lineup and throwing wormburners to the cutoff man and you already know what kind of player you have. For your sake I hope he doesn't get much playing time.

I never said anything about women so you can go away with that nonsense. Muskat just happens to be the most ignorant Cubs reporter I know. Would you prefer I substitute Phil Rogers? Also, your article indicated no joking/sarcasm, so maybe you shouldn't cry over criticism of a ridiculous trade proposal. You're clearly not new to the interwebs; I assume you know the drill by now.

The Cubs trading for Inge is dumb and pointless, where will he play; especially if the Roberts deal goes through. The Giants are a good fit and maybe even the Angels if they want Figgins to be in the utility role

Right, Baseballz. One thing that gets me is when players *refuse* to do this or that-- the thing is, they are EMPLOYEES of the ballclub they signed a contract with. And, last I checked, you basically do what yr employer asks of you. And then, on top of that, where does Inge really feel he has the leverage to *act* like he should be his own boss and not have to accept moving back to catcher, or helping the team out as a utility player? Seriously.

And the Giants would definitely NOT sign Inge and his expensive 3-year contract if they were willing to let go of Feliz. That just doesn't make any sense.

Of course, Sabean's a complete idiot, so who knows.

Inge really isn't being all that bad about it. He let his team and the media know that he would rather not be a back-up.

The reason we want Crede out is because Fields is going to be a much better hitter, although he will never have Crede's glove and will struggle to be league average defensively at third. And we want something for Crede before he hits free agency, because we aren't going to sign him back like the Giants would if he can be good.

"Crede's above market, so fair trades would be other above-market players -- a Ray Durham, perhaps."

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Oh, I thought you were joking. I'm a Giants fan and I would be quite happy to let Durham go somewhere else to open up that spot. But, I don't know if the WS have a need for an aging 2B coming off a real crappy year.

First off to My solution:

Play Brandon Inge at 3B for his superior defense to Cabrera. Move Cabrera to DH and play Sheffield more often in LF (sit him when necessary though) and put Jacque Jones on the bench.

Granderson has enough defensive skill to help out both Magglio and Sheffield in the field and the defensive upgrade at 3B is more important than the downgrade at LF IMO.

Sure Inge's offense is lacking and actually is subpar in comparison to Jones, but his 3B defense is totally worth it from my perspective.

And I'd want the best infield defense possible with that bullpen.

Posted by: jza1218 | March 07, 2008 at 12:14 PM

That solution is one of the most illogical ones that I could think of. The playing of sheff more is smart but why take jock jones out of our line up, the man reason why we got him was to have another left handed bat in our line up... and ur talking about replacing him with a right handed bat that strikes out every 1 of 8 times last year... come on now... yes maybe his defense may be better than cabera's right now but cabera lost a reported 20 to 30 pounds from last year.... i guareentee his agility will go up dramatically....overall to put cabera at dh would be one of the biggest mistake and having sheff play all the time will put to much wear and tear on him... hes getting old it showed last year....