Denny McLain: Brandon Inge looking to work his way back into the team – MLB Detroit Tigers News
Brandon Inge is not a happy chap these days. During Detroit Tigers’ winter caravan last week, he expressed his intensions to continue playing third base for the Tigers. However, with the addition of Prince Fielder into the Tigers’ team, Miguel Cabrera is more likely to perform third base duties this season.
Inge is disappointed with the Fielder-Tigers deal. With Cabrera playing third base, the catcher will be looking to work hard to get back into the team. Last season, the right handed Inge was unable to make the most of his available opportunities.
In the games he participated, he managed to put a poor .190 batting average on the board. Furthermore, he made many unforced errors on the field. Jim Leyland has asked him to earn his place in the team now.
Brandon has also been criticised by the former Tigers’ pitcher Denny McLain, who described Inge’s actions as completely childish. He commented on the situation saying that the Tigers should pick the guy with a better batting average.
"I'd rather have a guy who bats over .300 and drives in 100 runs who boots a few balls or doesn't get to some than a guy who hits .190 and is not contributing offensively in a major way. I would make that trade every day." McLain said.
"With the investment you have in these pitchers, there is no way you would let them pitch every fourth day now," he further added. "But you could do it if you raised the mound. If you give pitchers more leverage. The raising of the mound saves the arms and gives you move velocity."
With Cabrera playing third base this season, Inge is likely to sit on the bench and wait for his opportunity to arrive. The hard hitting Cabrera may be a bit heavy for the challenging third base position, he can compensate for that with his high quality hitting skills.
Tigers’ General Manager, Dave Dombrowski has spent millions of dollars to power Tigers’ pitching line-up this season. With the likes of Michael Pineda and Justin Verlander, the Tigers will have a strong pitching unit to back their batting line-up.
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