LAKELAND, Fla. — Brandon Inge might not be "the
most interesting man in the world," like the guy in the commercial, but he
certainly is the most polarizing figure on the Detroit sports scene.
A noticeably bigger Inge met with the media on Friday for the first time since
the Tigers signed Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract.
Inge was the last position player to report to spring training, coming in
Wednesday night. He said he did that on purpose, out of respect for his new
teammate.
"I didn't want to take anything away from Prince Fielder, welcoming him
in," Inge said. "I didn't want it to be anything against him.
"I knew he was coming in, and I was just kind of laying low so that I
could talk to you guys on my own, get it out separately, not be a distraction
to anyone and move on."
Inge appeared at the Tigers Winter Caravan in January and announced his plans
to reclaim the third-base job. He had severely a sub-par 2011 season — .197
batting average with just three home runs and 23 RBI — and spent a month with Triple-A
Toledo.
Inge's third-base plan was derailed with the Fielder signing. Fielder only plays
first base, so the Tigers decided to move former first baseman Miguel Cabrera back
to third, his original position.
Driven as ever to play every day, Inge went to president and general manager
Dave Dombrowski and asked for the opportunity to try second base. Dombrowski
took the request to manager Jim Leyland.
"He wanted to compete for the second-base job," Leyland said.
"We agreed with that, and that’s what we’re doing. Enough said.
"This is no big story for me. He’s going to compete for the job. He looks
great. Absolutely, he looks fantastic. He looks strong. He looks like he’s in
great shape."
Inge, who was listed at 190 pounds last season, said his offseason workouts
with former University of Michigan football trainer Mike Barwis helped him gain
about 10 pounds of muscle.
Inge said he was at about 200 pounds in 2006 — the year he hit .253 with a
career high 27 home runs and 83 RBI.
Although Inge very likely won't get enough at-bats to reach those numbers, he's
still happy to be a Tiger and is determined to contribute to the team.
"Any spot that I can get as far as trying to play on the field, I'm kind
of happy for the opportunity, basically, to be able to earn some playing
time," Inge said. "Nothing's given. I know I had a rough year last
year.
"I don't blame anyone for it. It kind of gives me an opportunity to kind
of come back up and earn everything from the beginning."
Inge said he didn't fault Dombrowski and Leyland for moving a willing Cabrera
to third base to make room for Fielder.
"I put myself in Mr. Dombrowski's position and tried to figure out what I
would do if I was in his shoes, too," Inge said. "Miggy thinks he can
play third and he (Dombrowski) is going to go with him, and I respect that
because he's sticking with his guys.
"Miggy's done a lot to help the team. He's a big part
of the team. (Dombrowski) is sticking behind him, showing faith that he can
play third.
"Obviously, I want to play, but I'm still a fan of Detroit. I've been here
my whole life, I'm still a fan.
"I want to play third, but Miggy's there right now. I'm not going to beat
him out, so the only potential spot for me to kind of win a position was at
second base. I want playing time. I want to stay in Detroit. That was a pretty
simple decision for me. That was my only option."
Although second base can be a more complicated position than a more reactive
one like third, Inge expressed confidence that he could play there.
"I know I can play it," he said. "It's just a matter of going
out and working at it and working hard and getting there.
"I was a second baseman in high school. I know that was a long time ago,
but infield is infield. That's kind of second nature to me."
Leyland said his plan is for Inge to spend most of the spring at second base.
"I don’t want to be switching him around," Leyland said. "He
might run over to third in a situation, but I don’t really foresee that
happening a lot. We’re going to get him out there at second base and he’s got
to get used to it, the footwork and stuff, making the double play from over
there.
"Playing third base for him is like getting up in the morning. I know he
can do that."
Although the athletic Inge can do most everything on the baseball field, it
remains to be seen whether he can grasp the nuances of second base and hit well
enough for the Tigers to use him more than on a utility basis.
Either way, fans will probably remain evenly divided on Inge.
