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On how the Tigers are handling the Inge situation
While it is understood Brandon Inge's only real chance for success as a major league hitter at this point is vs. left handed pitching, platooning him at second base with another right-handed hitter, Ryan Raburn, does not make sense.
Inge must be a significant contributor at the plate to justify his spot. He can't be floundering around with an OPS below .700 or something ridiculous. That is unless Miguel Cabrera does not perform well defensively at third base and the Tigers go to a Plan B.
Another factor will be how Danny Worth performs at Toledo. How well will he hit? If he is a reasonably effective hitter and Inge not impactfully productive, Worth fits the puzzle better. Frankly, this is not a good infield defensively, and Worth is a plus fielder.
Raburn has earned his reputation for bad starts - another issue. Ramon Santiago is still there to come to the rescue. The way this is setup does allow manager Jim Leyland to see exactly what he has and adjust. The downside: The Tigers early season schedule is not easy. They see a lot of top teams early, albeit at home. Experimenting could be precarious.
posted by Pat Caputo at
2:09 PM
3 Comments:
Pat, at least there not going to give him 150 starts at 2B. Brando did have excellent years in 2005/2006 but that was 6 years ago. He should be able to handle himself against LH pitching as he is 265 hitter lifetime against them. I think he will give them average D too. Worth should be on the team next year or later this year.
what's uncertain is how productive he needs to be at the plate to keep a job. during his DL time, his ABs could go to Santiago (.754 OPS in 154 ABs vs LHP last 3 years) and Dirks (.871 OPS in 31 AB vs LHP).
will he need to keep pace with their numbers or will the Tigers accept less if he seems to be having quality ABs and solid defense?
Also, how patient will the organization be with him this season? Could they be equally patient as last season because he's no longer expected to be an everyday guy?
Washington just demoted a $5M pitcher to the minors (he pitched Season openers for Wash the last couple years. Maybe a swap for problems?
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