When I wrote my article about Brandon Inge being an underrated player, I did so with the assumption that Brandon was a team player and that Brandon was good playing the infield (at a base). The Tigers have made a stupid mistake in making Brandon the #1 catcher. For starters, he can’t catch. He doesn’t have the instincts of a catcher. Pudge Rodriguez may not be as good as he once was, but there is no disputing the fact that he has the instincts of a catcher. What would have made more sense is to trade Renteria for a relief pitcher, moving Guillen to shortstop and putting Brandon back at third.
Brandon Inge isn’t playing baseball to help a team. He’s playing baseball for himself. He’s consistently made comments about how it “doesn’t matter what position he plays” as long as he gets to play every day. That’s all that matters to Brandon. I highly doubt he’s having a hard time dealing with the loss of Pudge. This means he gets to play a lot more frequently, so good riddance to Rodriguez, right?
Brandon went out as the catcher in the Tigers’ last game against Cleveland (which they had to fight to win), and he had a cocky attitude as if to say “I deserve to be catching”. It’s kind of funny because he boggled pitches repeatedly, couldn’t calm pitchers down and he already made his first error at the position. In just one game, he sucked at catching. While its nice he’s currently able to hit the ball (that won’t last – he’s only hitting .227), if he can’t perform well in a defensive capacity as a catcher, he’s no good to the team.
“I wan to play every day not matter what position, so I’m pumped,” Brandon said in a recent interview about the situation.
“Did I learn a lot from Pudge? He’s a future Hall of Famer, so watching him makes everybody better. I’m not Pudge, I’ll just go out and do what I can.”
That makes fans feel better I’m sure. Brandon will do what he can, but damn skippy he’s not Pudge. I hope DUMBrowski and Leyland have to eat their words. When Pudge becomes a free agent at the end of this year he might just end up back in Detroit. This is, if he’s willing to accept those who beg him to come back. I wouldn’t if I were Pudge, but that’s just my take on the matter.
This just goes to show Pudge truly is a team player. He knew New York needed a catcher and Detroit needed better pitchers, so he did what he had to do for what he thought was the betterment of all involved. This doesn’t mean that Farnsworth is going to work out in Detroit. In fact, I’d laugh if he goes out and doesn’t do his job. What an acquisition!
The point of my article is Brandon Inge is only out for himself and that isn’t good for any team. He still won’t get to play every day (with Dave Sardinha called up from AAA Toledo) and he isn’t that good in the catcher’s position anyway. So, is Brandon Inge overrated? Yes. Do I think he’s not good for the Tigers? Yes. Do I hope he gets traded? Yes.
Go home Brandon Inge! Let’s bring home Pudge Rodriguez.
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Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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