Tigers 3B Inge to have surgery on both knees

Inge - Agree with Andy K, heart and soul of the team. He's far from perfect, but I bet ANY team would love to have him. 20 errors? How many plays did he make that no other 3B would have made? Probably more than 20. Lets not forget the 84 Tigers, Tom Brookens at 3rd and his numbers pale in comparison to Inge's offensively. How many big hits did Inge get this year, particularly before he got hurt? Leyland probably should have DL'd him for 15-30 days, but hindsight's 20/20. No, Inge is a great fit for a few more years at 3B, we got biggger problems elsewhere.

Outfield - Granderson at center for sure, but not a leadoff hitter. Needs to be batting 5th or 6th in the order. The rest of the outfield, pretty much a joke. Guillen and Ordonez? Defensive liabilities, keep one (probably Ordonez) for DH and occasional outfield duties, the other needs to go. They're both on the downside of their careers offensively, time to start grooming replacements. Raburn showed some stuff at the end of the year and deserve's his shot, but we need to get a good one through a trade or FA. BTW, Thames needs to go.

Infield - we need to resign Polanco somehow, if we don't, I can't see the Tigers winning anything next year unless they hit the jackpot with a rookie, FA signing or trade (any chance to get Utley lol). 3B set with Inge as long as his knees are better. If he can come close to duplicating the first half of the year offensivelty and defensively, we're golden. Cabrera at 1B obviously. He had a down year, to be expected with no one really strong batting behind him, but still came through with solid numbers. Should be better next year. SS? Santiago's not the answer, nor Everett. Big hole there. Catcher, let Laird continue to tutor Avilia, maybe split the season this year, then let Laird go. Love that he can throw out baserunners, but ya gottoa hit.

Starting pitching - JV, EJ, RP are a good start. We should be able to shake out a decent 4th and 5th out of Bondo, Galaraga, Washburn and pehaps a rookie or two. Relief pitching is always a mystery. Rodney's numbers looked good, but I'd love to see us sign a top level reliever away from another club. Looks like Zumaya's going to end up being a washout, too bad, definately had closer stuff. Who knows, maybe Perry will turn into a closer...

Billy Hoe? You're the joke...

Brandon Inge IS the heart and soul of this Tiger team. He's SO valuable as a clubhouse leader and as an asset to the community. Detroit as a city has gone through more than a city should have to endure. He represents the fight in a Tiger and hope to Detroit, a city in economic ruins. He's played through injuries and has willingly played any position asked of him which makes him a great example to other teammates. I want him to be a Tiger forever! He's cut in the same mold as Jim Northrup, Bill Freehan, Al Kaline and Willie Horton and other great Tigers. Tough as nails.

As far as some other Tigers go... Detroit can do without Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson, Brandon Lyon, Clay Rapada and Carlos Guillen (his knees will cost too much to keep in him in a uniform). I think Jeremy Bonderman is worth more to the Tigers if they trade him away and get something in return. Same with Aubrey Huff although Aubrey needs a chance. He slumped at the wrong time (after acquisition!) as did Jarrod Washburn. Huff could turn out to be a huge DH replacement for Guillen and Washburn will have something to prove to Tiger's fans this coming season.
At catcher, Gerald Laird was incredible at throwing out runners but couldn't hit his way into a little league game. At this point, I just assume dump Laird's $2.8 million salary and go with Alex Avila and Dusty Ryan. I like Thames, Polanco, Santiago, Raburn, Granderson, and Thomas. Those guys all worked hard for their paychecks. Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordoñez were huge letdowns and although Magglio made huge offensive strides toward the end of the season, his defensive complacency was a liability and cost the Tigers 2 games down the stretch. Cabrera hit home runs but not enough "big ones" (in key situations ala Alex Rodriguez) and didn't drive in as many as he's paid to do. I think he had an "off year" and will give him another chance (in my book). However, Magglio should also be traded while he's worth something to someone else.
All in all, the Tigers aren't that far from repeating as a number one team (for 162 games this time around) again but should hopefully do better in the worst division in baseball... That's just my opinion (done without nicknames, without swearing and command of the English language unlike "Billy Hoe", you 3rd-grade-education imbecile... ooops! I name-called AND insulted 3rd graders!!! I'm so sorry...) LOL!!!!!!!

Inge is a joke. He led 3rd baseman in errors with 20, his average was in a free fall since June and he loves to strikeout when a huge situation arises. WHY THE HELL are we not resigning Placido? Dump Everett aka Renteria V 2.0, put Santiago at short and keep my Tiger at second! He was the only consistent infielder all year. Laird? You're done, I don't know why you weren't pulled in the final game before you went 0-5 or was it 0-6? Guillen? I'm on the fence. Always been a fan but I don't know if he has anything left? Can he still play short? Robertson, gone.... Zack friggin' Minor, GONE! Huff, you suck, GONE! Granderson, still huge potential but he needs a personal hitting instructor, unacceptable numbers for a leadoff man. Lyon needs to be resigned, Rodney can resign but not for what he's going to be asking. VerLander, Porcello, Jackson is a good start for a rotation then maybe Bondo? who knows. So before we get any free agents signed, our team should look like this: Rayburn,Grandy,Mags in the outfield, Cabby, Placido, Santiago, (insert 3rd baseman here) and Avila in the infield. Pitchers include VerLan, Porcello, EJack, Bondo(?), Seay, Knights Who Say Ni!, Perry, Lyon. DH Thames/Guillen. Did I miss anyone? Oh yeah, FIRE LEYLAND!

i take my hat off too inge for sticking with it thru the pain, but i do not like how leyland handled the situation, he should have put him on the disabled list when it first happened, brought up another 3rd sacker so inge would have healed during the season. maybe a month would have just been needed.

Inge is a much better ball player than people give him credit for. Yes, he K's a lot, but he would have won a gold glove this season if it hadn't been for the knee problems, and with his K's come good power that would benefit the bottom of a lineup. He is more suited to be appreciated on a team with better production in the middle of the lineup without expecting him to be a major run producer. Inge gets a bad rap in Detroit, but is a very valuable player.

Guillen doesn't have a strong enough arm to play 3rd base. For all of Inge's batting problems, he has a cannon for an arm.

If i confused anyone I mean Santiago to SS---not 2nd.

At 32 his lifetime BA should say all you need to know. Add in his SO's and his age and you can see that his best years are behind him. I love Inge. He was on the 129 team and to play for this team after that year says miles for your character but i do have to say the Inge's best years are behind him. The only way he should be allowed to stay is if he moves to a utility player and make ways in like Santiago did(who should start next season at 2nd) or if he gets healthy and fills a gap that is left in free agency. But in my head, there is no place for him. Santiago to short, Sizemore to second, and we get an outfielder THAT HITS ABOVE .220(they aren't that hard to find) and that would push Guillen to third. Sorry guys, but making a spot on a team for that can't hit is stupid, no matter how much you love the guy.

I hope the surgery helps Brandon, it was obvious he was not the same after the allstar break and while I don't expect him to be a 300 hitter would be nice to see him become a bit more consistent at the plate. I just hope we resign Polanco. Oh and number 24, I thought Dean Palmer and Travis Fryman hit pretty darn well for the tigers at 3rd base.

brad - as I said I do not argue with Inge's heart for the game but disagree with you on BA. Player BA and pitcher ERA are the essence of the game and have been since baseball began. Hitting for higher average and making contact with the ball means potentially moving base runners rather than striking out and leaving them 'like a house by the side of the road.'

In six of his eight full time seasons he has only hit over 20HRs twice and averaged 13HRs/season in the other 6. Won't argue the defense but it might be a stretch to say he saved 50 runs. Would depend who else played in his place and at this time we have no one.

Ted - seem to have a short memory as Brandon complained about playing other positions and said he only wanted to play third.

The Inge argument will be over after next year as he is an FA and I doubt the Tigers. will resign him.
I do wish him well and hope he finds his batting eye next year.

Inge plays his butt off everyday as if it was his last game he is an all star . So what if he only hits in the mid 200's he is one of if not the best 3ed basemen in the majors and on top of that he can play any place he is put .

I love all the baseball geniuses on here who rely so much on the batting average. I would much rather have a guy that hits .220 with 27 homers and 84 ribbies then a guy hitting .300 with 12 and 60. Who cares what your batting average is if your producing runs which he has for a # 7-9 hitter. He may not put up huge numbers but he led the team in RBI's and Homers for most of the season. His glove alone has saved probably 50 runs a year. Our problem is Leyland who game after game makes horrible calls, Zach Miner is an absolute joke, and Rayburn has no business playing left field. Brandon is far from the reason we didn't make the playoffs, hes one of the reasons we should have.

JRoy every time Inge's name is mentioned on the blog he both draws criticism from those who do not like him at all and emotional support from those who feel he is Detroit's answer at 3B.

I'm in the middle and look at whether we can afford a $6.5 mill regular at the position who gets closer every year to the ' Mendosa line' . I won't argue his defensive abilities and his enthusiasm for the game. He is not a clubhouse player. The Tigers do not have a leader and that has been a problem with the team.

Last 3 years Inge's second half batting average has been- .186(20090, .193(2008) and .223(2007). There were no injury reports two years previous to cast blame for low average.

He is a good defensive replacement as that's what all the argument in his favor contend. The Tigers will go nowhere fast unless they improve on the clot of low average hitters in the lineup. If Inge ends up being the only low BA position player then this discussion would not even be valid.

Hmmm...we can't blame all our problems on Inge. If it weren't for Brandon's glove there would have been several more games we would've lost. The Tigers don't keep Brandon around because he's a 'nice guy.' They keep him around for his glove, and they're trying to help him improve on his hitting. He was right up there with homeruns on the team. One thing I've noticed with watching the stats of HR hitters is that they do strike out quite a bit. Inge does need to relax at the plate and get his hitting game going. He knows that. But to bash him him and say he's lame and that he sucks, etc. is a joke. There is definitely more than one piece to the puzzle, and Brandon isn't one that I'd be tossing out by any means. Brandon, if you read these 'lame comments,' I hope your surgery is successful and that you heal up real soon.

Having Inge healthy for the whole season would plug a major hole in the lineup. Maybe some hypnotism and accupuncture while they're at it. He's shown he can hit when healthy - and focused. Tigers don't have another player who can even sub effectively at 3rd.

Another reason not every team should be represented for the All-Star game. He's not an all-star. He has no trade value because of his salary. Too bad, hope he recovers well. He plays hard and is a great clubhouse guy.

He and the Tigers probably should've played in the ALDS against the Yankees if it weren't for the blown call on him.

Hey WING NUT 08.....well said!! The Tigers have not had a great hitting 3B since the days of George
Kell. All you others that are knocking Inge, give him a break. Enjoy his glove work at the hot corner!!
Hopefully after his surgey,and in spring training, he can work on hitting the curve. Good luck Brandon!!! Go Tigers....Go Wings!!!!!

Wouldn't it be great if the Tigers had a big bat and some better relief pitching?

Everyone accepts the fact that Inge is a decent person. But he had the lowest BA of any AL 3rd basemen and the second highest Ks. A team can accept one lower than average hitter if all other guns are firing but the Tiger lineup cannot afford a $6.5 mill man who only once in his career, has never bottomed out in the second half of the season when the team needs him the most.

He may be a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys..............

Twins'd love to have him. Tigers fans: I think the selfishness and lack of effort from some of your superstar-caliber players (hmmm. Wonder what idiot who would rather stay out all night drinking than be prepared to play in the most important series of the season I might be referring to?) might have a lot more to do with the team's failures than a guy busting his butt to play in 161 games with two bad knees. You guys should love Inge.

Not being negative on the guy but with a perennial low BA and over 160Ks, how much more does defense save a game that poor offense loses?

Typical Inge, Big numbers for awhile, then the nosedive, blame it on the knee's, alway's got a excuse. Trade his lame ass.

If he is so good on defense...stick him at ss, with Guillen back at 3rd and Raburn in lf. Lineup now has : Grandy cf
Polanco 2b/Raburn
Maggs rf
Cabrera 1b
Streiby dh
Guillen 3b
Raburn lf/Ramirez
Laird c
Inge ss

Inge was playing hurt all year, he just got in a funk after the All-Star break. If he can have 2 solid halves, he'd hit 30 homers 100 rbis and at least a 260 average. He was better at 3rd than anyone who could've been called up, or had on the bench. And if anyone suggests putting Raburn at 3rd, must not have watched him play there this past season... Inge is going to be a Tiger his whole career, guaranteed.