Detroit Tigers Need to End Romance with Brandon Inge

I live in the Detroit area and I love to see the Tigers do well. I appreciate Brandon Inge's glove and his solid contribution to the community. I love his tenacity and his willingness to play hurt.

Inge had short periods in his career where he made decent contact and hit for a reasonable average. Those periods flashed enough potential that, combined with the outstanding flash of his mitt and his personality, made him easy to love.

Unfortunately, love has its limits, and that limit has been reached. Detroit's man-love for Brandon Inge must end once and for all.

The Fat Lady is Singing

Why must the affair end, you ask? Because it's over, and it has been for a long time. After the 2009 All-Star game, Inge finished the year at a .186 clip, a Titanic-sized disaster blamed on bad knees.

2010 ushered in a .247 average, his highest season average since 2006, with 'power' numbers of 13 dingers and 70 RBI. 

This year it has been physically painful to watch Inge pretend he can hit a baseball. Inge is 34 and looks 60 at the plate. Pitchers routinely throw heat by him and he looks like he has a butterfly net instead of a bat when someone feels the need to feed him offspeed stuff.

After a season batting .177 with one banger and 17 ribbies (finishing on a 4-57 tear), the Tigers finally agreed with me and designated him for assignment to the minors. Inge has accepted the assignment and swears he'll be back. I hope not.

For the good of Detroit, Inge needs to realize that he needs to quit taking up the roster spot of someone who potentially can hit a baseball and run the bases. For the sake of the Tigers, I hope he calls it a day and takes the much deserved front-office job I am sure Ilitch has reserved for him.

Inge Is a Career Journeyman

Do not get me wrong, I am not an Inge hater, I am just a realist, and in Inge's case, reality hurts. The reality is that even before the recent injuries and batting woes, Inge's career has been little better than a journeyman that has lived more off his popularity than his production.

How else do you explain a .234 lifetime average with an annual output of 16 HRs and 69 RBI being hailed as a team leader? How does a guy that doesn't walk much and strikes out 139 times a year (one out of every four times) lead a team?

A guess hitter who doesn't make contact inspires teammates?

Oh, maybe it's because he does the little things? Let's see, since he doesn't make contact he's useless for hit and run situations. He steals a base four times a year, and gets caught almost as many. He's abysmal at moving the runner over and he literally can't bunt if his life depended on it.

Maybe he leads by his career .239 average with runners in scoring position? The third baseman for almost any contending team doesn't have offensive numbers even close to Inge's mediocrity.

Don't believe Inge is a career journeyman? You're right, journeymen don't get paid $5.5 million a year. However, Wilson Betemit, the man the Tigers traded for, is a career journeyman that has had six teams in nine years and, at $1.0 million a year, is paid like one.

Betemit hits 33 points higher than Inge as a career .267 hitter. He hits .333 with runners in scoring position compared to Brandon's anemic .239 and has a slugging percentage of .442 compared to Inge's .387.

Inge's Glove Is No Substitute For a Major League Hitter

'But Brandon is so valuable in the field all else is forgiven.' It is a mantra that you'll hear in every pub and sports bar in Michigan at least a dozen times a day. Anyone that saw Inge play third will give him his due, he has a quick mitt and a rifle arm.

Funny thing is that he no longer gets to as many balls and despite his big time rep, his career fielding percentage is only .975. There are lots of third basemen with that fielding percentage that can hit better than their weight.

There Are Better Players In the Wings

Brandon Inge has been in Detroit for 11 seasons and though nothing spectacular, he has fielded his position and supplied some pop every now and then. He's been a great citizen and has moved his family here. The Detroit fanbase likes him.

Right now, however, he couldn't hit a beachball and there are two minor league third baseman in the Tigers' farm system that will be ready when Inge's contract expires in 2012, if not earlier.

Betemit has never played a full season but is a switch hitter that has shown he can hit major league pitching that Inge cannot, and can be re-signed for a song.

With the Tigers' current roster and the money coming off when Guillen's and Ordonez's contracts expire at the end of the year, there will be better free agent options than riding the Inge bandwagon of hope.

Wasting a position on Inge makes no business or competitive sense anymore, and the Tigers need to run a competitive business.

It Was Good While It Lasted

There comes a time in a relationship where somebody has to step up and end the suffering. For Brandon Inge, that time is now. Let's thank him, give him his parade, and go get a third baseman who can hit.