50% of Tigers Infield Stinks According to The Sporting News
By Mike McClary in Fungoes, Media Rare | 3 comments
As I’ve noted before in this space, The Sporting News is a dreadful publication.
You have to dig deep into an otherwise shallow magazine to find worthwhile bits of information that aren’t some lame attempt to be funny.
(You may wonder why, if I loathe TSN so much, I continue to subscribe. Legitimate question. Trust me, I’ve tried on several occasions to cancel my subscription but they simply won’t do it. Maybe they don’t want to waste paper to send me a prorated refund of $1.26. At any rate, mark this date down: March 26 — the day my subscription runs out.)
Yet, in the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, I found two items of note in this issue (and one leftover from last week’s edition) that relate to the Tigers. First, the leftover. In the “Fantasy Source” section of the Feb. 5 issue, Placido Polanco was ranked dead last in the second baseman list. No criteria were listed so we’re left to wonder.
In a related bit from this week’s issue, Brandon Inge is ranked last for third sackers. Last! Certainly Inge is no Brooks Robinson but he ain’t no Chris Brown either. Pathetic!
Moving beyond the la-la land of Fantasy Source, the magazine also ranks the outfielders of every MLB team. The Tigers outfield ranks #2 behind the Yankees:
Only two A.L. outfields produced more runs last season. Monroe and Ordonez are aggressive hitters. Granderson is the key to the outfield defense.
The Tigers are the only team to field an outfield with two 25+ homer-hittin’ players (Monroe and Marcus Thames).
Speaking of Monroe, here’s the Tigers item in the A.L. Report:
LF Craig Monroe believes he’s capable of becoming a better overall hitter, especially in terms of batting average and reaching base.
Imagine.
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Ian Casselberry | Feb 11, 2007 | Reply
As someone who had Placido as his fantasy 2nd baseman for the first 1/4 of the season, I’ll explain why I gave up on him. He only helps you in one stat: batting average. He doesn’t hit home runs, drive in runs, or steal bases. Unfortunately, what makes him such a good player in real baseball – plate discipline, good defense, leadership – doesn’t help in the fantasy world. I’d say he’s a good “Monday-Thursday” pick-up, though.
Inge, however, is another story. Though his average was low, you could do worse than to have someone with his home run and RBI totals at third. Not the first third baseman I’d take, but he wouldn’t be the last, either.
Lee Panas | Feb 16, 2007 | Reply
Polanco is a horrible fantasy player. Unfortunately, defense does not count for much in faantasy leagues. I agree there are worse fantasy players than Inge but he is another who is better in real life baseball than fantasy baseball.
Matt Osmak | Feb 16, 2007 | Reply
What were the guys at TSN smoking? Polanco is a big part of the Tigers success. Okay- so he doesn’t translate too well into the fantasy realm… but neither dose Eckstein.. and we all know what that little twerp did to us in the series.
Inge has come a long way from the .190 hitting backstop I saw at Qualcomm when the Tigers came to visit a few years ago. He sure looks at home at third base now. I see him hitting 25-30 homers and driving in 75-80 runs from here on out. I doubt he can get his average above .270 though.
Mike, I love your site and the podcast. Keep it up and Go Tigers!