Is Brandon Inge having a terrific season or did he just have a really good month of April, which is skewing his overall stats?
Inge hit .319 with seven home runs and 18 RBI in April. He walked 13 times and struck out just six times. He had 10 extra base hits in 69 at bats.
This month, Inge is hitting .247 with five home runs and 15 RBI. He has walked just six times, but struck out 27 times in 81 at bats. He has just seven extra base hits this month.
His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) was 1.114 in April. It is .764 in May.
Inge is a .239 lifetime hitter. His career OPS is .706, but he was higher than that - but still in the .700s - during his most productive major league seasons in 2004-2006 when he exclusively played third base.
What is happening is that Inge is finding his level as a hitter. He is going to hit some home runs, he is going to strikeout a lot, he won’t walk that much and is prone to slumps. He also saves the Tigers runs with his glove at third base.
Conversely, it wouldn’t surprise me if Magglio Ordonez starts hitting the ball with more authority. You see some signs of that lately with a hitting streak, but he hasn’t really begun to sting the ball yet. Changes are he will.

Random Thoughts

- Can you imagine an Orlando-Denver NBA Final? I’m sure David Stern couldn’t, either. At least if it does happen, we’d know this much for certain: The conspiracy theory about the NBA would be shattered. It would be the nightmare matchup compared to the dream one with LeBron and Kobe.

- The Lions signing of offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam didn’t get a lot of attention, but it was a solid move. Salaam is a versatile player with a lot of smarts. He has played a lot at left tackle. He is at least another viable option off the bench besides George Foster.

Column I wrote for Sunday's Oakland Press on NHL Officiating: http://tinyurl.com/pw5qa2