OT - Brandon Inge released today.

From a purely production standpoint, dude had to go.  Personally, he was a great guy for the city, the team, and the fans.  I caught him on his Mud Hen "rehab" stint last season.  In what should have been a really embarrassing situation for a long-time big leaguer, he was very nice, signed a ball for my kid, and hit two dingers.  Always carried himself well, seemed genuinely humble and happy to be playing baseball.  There's no way he deserved the kind of treatment (boos, laughs, etc) that our "fans" have given him this season.  Amazing how quickly folks have gotten spoiled after enjoying their first division title since 1987. 

NOOOOOOOO! I loved him on the team. It made it realistic to think I could train for a year, learn to hit 200 and make over 10 mil...damn him for ruining my dream.

This is bittersweet for me. He was the lone remaining player from the doldrums of the late 90s-early 2000s and was on the 119-game losers of 2003. He stuck through it thick and thin, and was highly-regarded as defensive player and a teammate.

On the other hand, he was borderline awful at the plate for most of his years.

Good luck to him whereever he goes. Atleast he got paid!

Through the good and the bad, one thing you can say about Ingey, was that he always gave his all.

Fuck.

So now it's horrible to be disatisfied when you aren't doing at work what you think you have earned or are best at?  Pretty sure we would all fit that model at some point.  Any player has the right to keep fighting to have a great job.  May have been his time to go - but the vitriol towards Inge is poor.

I applaud the Tigers for staying loyal to him as long as they feasibly could (well, perhaps a little beyond that point), for few other teams would have afforded Brandon Inge this luxury given the underwhelming production coming from him over several years. It seemed like his presence and his status were becoming a distraction, however, and for the Tigers to move on, I think this became a "must do right now" thing. 

It's true what people have said here, of course - he was, at one time, pretty good on defense despite the extended slumps at the plate, and at a position where, for a long time, it was Inge and air (3B), keeping him was a fairly rational thing to do. Brandon Inge was, at his height, if you can call it that, a  good defensive third baseman.

He did do everything he could to get playing time and stay in Detroit (I applaud that level of tenactiy - many people would have demanded a trade long ago) - even move to 2B for this season - but between the declining defense and the 2-for-20 bat this season, it just seems better to move on now. 

All that being said, he did some great things for the area (his work with the University Hospital is noted, of course), and it was actually kind of cool that he bucked the trend in baseball and decided to move here and raise his family here (he lives near Dexter, I think).  I wish him the best in the next  chapter, whether it is baseball or not.

For the team, though, this definitely is:

But in all seriousness, at the end of the day Inge was a staple of not just the Tigers, but of Detroit.  He stuck around for awhile during some really tough seasons.  Emotionally, I'll miss the guy.  Statistically, goooooood riddance and don't let the door hitya where the good lord splitya..

Inge may have been a good guy, and no one who doesn't know him personally can really know, but it's baffling that he was re-signed in the first place let alone allowed to drag the team down with God awful performances.  Having said that, the Tigers need a new hitting coach IMO.  They just seem to hack away at everything, whereas you see other teams take a more patient approach.  Maybe it's just me, but there doesn't seem to be much strategy at the plate quite often. 

Yes! Yes! Yes! I have been asking for this day since 2006! I am so excited right now!

I never thought I would be so happy following a Tigers loss!

May have been better if opposing pitchers didn't "pitch me like I am babe Ruth"

Finally

Just got a little better!  It's been a long time coming!

Lot of Inge hatred here. With fans like these, he definitely had worn out his welcome.

watched him.  Not sure what the brass is thinking.   He has been hitting.  Best case scenario .... trade bait in a package deal for a real 2B-man.

Bye

He was a favorite tiger of mine at one point.  But at the end of the day Baseball is a business and the guy wasn't performing. 

He still hit about 0.234 better than I would have in the big leagues.

To quote Bob Frost:

"...so Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay."

G'bye mate.   Whether you loved or hated him, he was the last remaining bridge to the Higginson/Easley/Clark era and an everlasting part of Tigers lore.

Full time Michigan resident (outside of Ann Arbor I think)

Big Umich fan

Great defensive plays

Yes, couldn't hit but he was scrappy and I respected the effort.

Best of luck in future endeavors.

Good luck to him getting a front office position. There is no way he should be playing professional baseball anymore. Hitting 0.100  isn't going to cut it for Whitecaps let alone the Hens. 

Valenti...he called this just yesterday i think.

He got to talk one-on-one with Leyland and said he got the feeling something big would happen with Inge and soon.

He was right on.

Sure is a good thing we let Polanco go, we didn't need his fielding excellence or his 320 batting average.....HA. One of the worst moves in recent Tiger history, despite the odd shape of his cranium.

I knew he had overstayed his welcome. He had to go, and I thank him for what he brought to the Tigers over the years, especially defensively.  The worst part of this is that they put Clete Thomas on waivers to keep a roster spot for Inge, then release him 11 days later.