Admittedly, all of our options at 2nd are poor. I would prefer a mix of Raburn and Santiago over The Brandon full time but whatever....

All the R&R Boys need to do is hit. Brandon will be done after that.

Agreed. I don't see little R hitting that much though. A .658 career OPS at the age of 32 isn't very promising. It may be better than anything The Brandon is capable of at this point however.

Brilliant first post! Welcome to these boards.

I'm with you on Inge. I want that guy in, even if he hits .010! I would rather lose with Inge than win the World Series with him on the bench. I mean, right?

:) Agreed. I specifically liked the first 10 "words" that he directed at me. In his 1st post. A fine start for him. (or it)

The last 2 years Inge and Santiago have the same OPS.

Neither one have much upside anymore (for Inge he has no upside), but Santiago has something left than Inge has.

He is brilliant man with lots of well thought-out, practical, ideas. Oh yes, and his personal hygiene is above reproach.

Middtown is a cougar with an STD.

I think he has to show up and collect his paycheck.

Lots of zeroes behind the dollar sign.

And in the daily hit column too.

And you would see that (his showing up to get his check) as a worthwhile contribution?

Nope. I'm saying that's the only reason he hasn't been released.

Really?!!

If you <sucked at your job and had the Fing nerve to whine about losing your job to someone who is 10 times better than you are, would you not pull an Inge? How dare DD trade for Cabrera or Prince when all we need is for The Brandon to put on 20+ pounds of pure power hitting bulk.

You are just a hater. Like me.

OK, but in context with the original question, what level of performance do YOU think would justify keeping him on the roster? I'm especially curious because I know you have been fond of him in the past, so what production level would make you believe he's wotrh keeping?

Honestly, I don't think his spring matters a whole lot. They should keep him to put butts in seats and for late inning defense and spot starts against lefties. They're going to be paying him $5.5 million regardless, and releasing him does nothing but throw that money away. The 25th guy isn't going to make or break the Tigers' season. If he does, the Tigers are in trouble.

<They should keep him to put butts in seats and for late inning defense and spot starts against lefties. They're going to be paying him $5.5 million regardless, and releasing him does nothing but throw that money away. The 25th guy isn't going to make or break the Tigers' season. If he does, the Tigers are in trouble. >

Please tell me you're joking I couldn't disagree more with EVERYTHING you said.

1. Detroit's attendance at home will be just fine without Inge around. This isn't Gordie Howe or Barry Sanders we are talking about where we go "I saw a GREAT LEGEND play today." It is more of "I saw Brandon Inge strike out and make a ridiculous error today." That won't put my butt in a seat and I bet even the biggest Inge fan on earth would not boycott going to Comerica Park either. I can think of about 3 guys right now that Tigers fans would run up to the gates to pay for a ticket (Cabrera, Fielder, Verlander). Inge isn't one of them.

2. There are better options for spot starts against lefties. And the spots he is competing for have a righty in front of him (Raburn, Cabrera) or a switch hitter (Santiago).

3. I don't care how much he makes. If the guy is hurting the team at the plate and in the field as has Inge, I am not going to put a guy who is making $5.5 million out there to LOSE. That is just bad business.

4. 25th guy shouldn't be the "make or break" player the Tigers need. But I want THE BEST 25 PLAYERS ON THE TEAM. Simply put. If Inge is less than 25, then he should not be on the team.

I don't really like the idea of a 24-man roster + Inge either. If Inge makes the team, he'll see, what?, 1 AB every 2 weeks? What's the point?

The fans that go down there to see Inge will only see him in the 9th inning as a defensive replacement every other game? That will only work for so long.