XIGT, 3/12, Mets @ Tigers in Lakeland

[Edgy MD]

1. Torres cf
2. Turner, 3b
3. Davis, 1b
4. Duda, rf
5. Rottino, lf
6. Thole, dh
7. Cede�o, ss
8. Nickeas, c
9. Valdespin, 2b

Niese, sp

1. Jackson, cf
2. Inge, 2b
3. Cabrera, 3b
4. Fielder, 1b
5. Young, dh
6. Boesch, rf
7. Peralta, ss
8. Avila, c
9. Henry, lf

Verlander, sp

Mets	=#FF8000]Detroit

This is a good team, isn't it?

[MFS62]

It was a good team without Fielder.
With him, they're scary good.
Jackson leading off puts their manager in the school of "If he's fast and plays center field, he's gotta' lead off."
And Inge playing second? He'll make Murphy look good by comparison. Like Murphy, his best position is at bat, his second best is third base. But getting Fielder put the wheels in motion. Cabrera moved to third and they needed a place to play Inge. So, second base it was.
But still a scary good team.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Inge is/was a GREAT fielding 3rd baseman. Not good, GREAT! May not be AS good playing 2B but I can't imagine he'd be all that bad.
His only sin (besides far too many stupid tats) was that he decided to stop hitting* right at the same time the Tiggers decided to corner the market on 1B/DH types meaning that one of them needed to move to 3rd.




* OPS last three years: 720, 718, 548

Edited March 12, 2012 by Guest

[Ceetar]

I'm adopting them as my AL rooting interest this year after I picked them to lose to the Mets in the WS last year.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Inge is/was a GREAT fielding 3rd baseman. Not good, GREAT! May not be AS good playing 2B but I can't imagine he'd be all that bad.

I hadn't seen him play that much, so I checked Baseball-reference. You're right. When I was a kid, Clete Boyer was considered the best fielding third baseman, so I had his career .965 FPCT* etched in my mind as a way to compare other third basemen. Very few have come close. Brooks Robinson beat it, and blew me away.
Inge has a .961. That's up there in very rarefield atmosphere.
Thanks for pointing that out.

Later

* = didn't have the expanded defensive statistics back then. Fielding percentage was the only one.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah I don't put much stock in fielding pct but have seen & heard enough of Inge over the years to know what he's like with the glove.
The odd part is that he came up as a catcher. His BA has never been anything special but he took walks and had a bit of pop.
Then everything seemed to fall apart for him last year and I don't think there was an explanation. Spent some time in the minors even IIRC.

Looks like we're getting most of the best Detroit has to offer today: Fielder, Cabrera, Avila, Verlander, etc.
Too bad we can't return the favor.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Inge is a pretty good defender. He can't hit for average much, but he's considered good with the glove with a great arm. Big fan favorite. The team sent him down to Toledo last year when he was in a horrible funk and looked done, which was tough considering his service time. Instead of going down there and pouting, he worked his ass off and became like the patron saint of Triple-A players, buying them all kinds of stuff and acting almost like a coach. He came back and was better.

[Edgy MD]

We're at 3-1, Tigers leading, after four.

Niese struck out four in his three innings, but the Tigers bunched a batch of singles in the third an picked up three runs.

Mets got their run on a two-out RBI double by Nickeas. Ronny Cede�o has logged an error at short.

[TransMonk]

Edgy DC wrote: Ronny Cede�o has logged an error at short.

Not a good sign. I believe he's here to not make errors.

[bmfc1]

The Mets continue to be good at hitting Grand Slams against the Tigers as Duda hits a slam.

[Ceetar]

bmfc1 wrote: The Mets continue to be good at hitting Grand Slams against the Tigers as Duda hits a slam.

lol, I forgot they had two of those last year.

[Edgy MD]

My team fights the hell back. What does your team do?

[Edgy MD]

Josh Stinson gets raked for three runs in his inning. Armando Rodriguez on with a "Hey, remember me?"

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I was gonna start a 'what to expect' thread on Armando Rodriguez today but figured he wasn't high enough in the climb toward the majors or the prospect rankings to give us any idea what he'll do, despite his presence on the 40.

I believe he's ticketed to start at Bingo.

[Edgy MD]

A strikeout and a walk in his inning.

I believe his was the first of the "Ex in 11" threads last year. (The correct answer was... nuttin'.)

[Edgy MD]

Za' Klutz is on to pinch-hit for Thole.

OE: WOOOSH! He goes down.

[Edgy MD]

Daniel Ray Herrera gave up a walk and a hit in his one shutout inning.

[Edgy MD]

And Josh Edgy yields the tying run --- unearned by him, thanks to an error by Wilmer Flores.

[Edgy MD]

Top nine. Two out single by Baxter. Chance for redemption coming for Flores.

[Edgy MD]

Yum. Love those ties.

[Edgy MD]

Oh, Edgin had appeared to escape the eighth unharmed when he got Dirks to pop in foul ground, but catcher Rob Johnson dropped the ball.

[TransMonk]

Edgy DC wrote: Yum. Love those ties.

"My sister tastes like spit."