Friday, March 21, 2008

Time For Tigers To Put Up Or Shut Up On Inge

I still don’t believe the Los Angeles Dodgers don’t have interest in Brandon Inge. I believe their comments lately are a smoke screen. They fancy themselves as contenders, have money and Inge has value not just as a third baseman, but in the utility role he is born to fill, especially in the National League. Inge would still have value after Normar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche return.
But the Dodgers might have more interest in Joe Crede, who the White Sox have been trying to unload and insert Josh Fields as their third baseman.
I also disagree with manager Jim Leyland’s contention the Tigers can’t improve their bullpen at this late date. They must. Getting off to a good start is very important. And the Tigers bullpen is not good - although it was a good sign how Todd Jones threw against Atlanta Thursday. The game was on Atlanta’s FSN network and I watched it. Jones had excellent command. Denny Bautista gave up some runs in that game, but you can see what he has going for him is pretty good. But the depth is a problem - more mop-up and situational types than setup men.
The bigger issue is whether the Tigers want to trade Inge. I mean, who is going to be the backup catcher? To me, that remains as big a concern as the bullpen.

Random Thoughts

- Tom Izzo prepares his team for the NCAA Tournament better than any coach in the nation. It would not shock me if the Spartans beat Pitt.

- The Red Wings most underappreciated player is Johan Franzen. To say he is closing the season strongly would be an understatement. He is an example of why the Red Wings are tough enough to win the Stanley Cup.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pat,

I agree with you that the primary reason that the Tigers haven't dealt Inge is that they don't really want to. He has enough value for them, thet they have to get a pretty good deal to ship him off; someone who has a GOOD chance of making the team in an area of need.

-Marty

10:57 AM 
Blogger Barry said...

Hey Pat, Good Friday to you, I would trade Thames over Inge (Inge can catch) unless Inge has a serious attitude problem because the bullpen looks inferior. I would put a package together that include Thames or Inge and a prospect (not a top 5 prospect) to get Heilman or Wuertz. Would you trade for Heilman or Wuertz? I have read that Wuertz would be the easy to get and he is suppose to be falling out of favour with the Cubs. Do you like any of these guys? How was Jones velocity?

2:41 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Capootz..not your style to be a cheap shot artist..sure the LAD are interested..but what if they are not offering anything of value. Coletti isn't the sharpest knife in the shed..he had to be berated into playing Loney and Kemp and he signed Pierre..so your thinking is flawed..yes Proctor would help a lot..a real lot..but the LAD are pretty thin there themselves..waiting 60 days isn't a tradgedy for them.

DD is usually pretty shrewd..let's see what he does when rosters shake out..Valdez from SF is a possibility..but he is Bautista lite..those are the kind of guys who are available..Weurtz maybe..

1:30 AM 
Blogger Pat Caputo said...

Marty,
Obviously since you posted Inge's value has really come to the forefront. We'll see how he responds to playing every day at the plate. Suffice to say, it is important for him to get off to a good start.
Caputo

1:05 PM 
Blogger Pat Caputo said...

Marty,
Obviously since you posted Inge's value has really come to the forefront. We'll see how he responds to playing every day at the plate. Suffice to say, it is important for him to get off to a good start.
Caputo

1:05 PM 
Blogger Pat Caputo said...

Barry,
Trading Thames remains a possibility, but they better be sure on the reliever they get in return. Thames does have value to the Tigers when spotted properly into the lineup. He gets exposed if played too much, but they can platoon with Jones. It is ideal.
Caputo

1:07 PM 
Blogger Pat Caputo said...

Anonymous,
Seems like moot point now that Granderson is injured and Inge will be taking his place to start the season.
Caputo

1:08 PM 

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