Brandon Inge Must Go

Allow me to preface this by saying Brandon Inge seems to be a nice enough guy and is certainly a pretty slick fielder. My fellow TDF blogger Josh Wallen will even tell you he might be the face of Motor City Sports (though following Jon Kitna‘s gritty performance Sunday I think there’s a new sheriff in town).

That being said, I need to see B-Inge on a southbound train out of town this off season. The Tigers have outgrown him as an everyday player.

There are many who could be the goats (Joel Zumaya, Jim Leyland‘s decision to pull Kenny Rogers, Gary Sheffield fanning on three straight iwith a runner on second in the 10th, etc.) if the Tigers wind up losing this game — it’s currently 5-5 in the top of the 10th — but in my opinion Inge is at the top of the list. Here’s why:

In the top of the fourth, Detroit received so many gifts from the Cleveland Indians you’d have sworn it was Christmas. Two errors and a Ramon Santiago safety squeeze that scored Pudge Rodriguez and it looked like a huge inning was in order. What with no one out and runners on first and second, the Tigers were poised to blow it open. Inge, the No. 9 hitter, was called upon to execute what all No. 9 hitters must do — sacrifice bunt. For at least the second time this season that I can recall he failed and this time he failed so miserably it may have cost Detroit the game and very well its last chance at the post-season. His bunt traveled all of about two feet and led to a rare 2-5-3 doubleplay that effecively ended the inning.

The last time I opined about Inge’s deficiencies I was taken to task by a TDF reader who posted that he was merely a ninth hitter. True, but ninth hitters need to do the little things like moving up runners and he hasn’t embraced or perfected this skill.

So, I’m going to eschew bidding on the Tiger Stadium memorabilia and rather offer my $279 plus tax to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski in hopes he offers an obscene amount of money to Alex Rodriguez to play third base. Make Santiago the light-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop who’ll bat ninth and sacrifice bunt effectively and move Carlos Guillen to first base.

And hey, as a bonus, if you lock A-Rod to a long-term deal now you might have him in a Tigers’ uniform when he eclipses Barry Bonds‘ all-time home run record which would be nice for Mr. I‘s coffers.