Brandon Inge Update

Last night, The Exalted One made his first appearance of 2012. He started at DH and batted 2nd (Lolwut) for Triple-A Toledo on a rehab assignment

Inge wowed scouts and fans alike, going 1-3 with a walk (OBP=.500!!!!!) and a run scored.

I haven't read any official plans, but I would guess that Inge is in Toledo or the remainder of the week, getting at bats and eventually playing 2B as he works his way back from the groin injury that landed him on the DL

Leyland has said that Inge will be his starter at 2B against left handed pitching. Yesterday we watched Danny Worth play 2B and hit 9th vs. Matt Moore. Worth didn't impress at the plate, but made some good plays at 2B. With the depth in the lineup that the Tigers possess, I think they can get away with having 1 spot in their lineup being all-glove/no-bat. Unlike 2009, when they had 3 of those (Laird, Inge, Everett). Unfortunately, Inge appears to be the leading candidate for that job

I will keep you updated on Our Hero's rise from the ashes of the DL

Ab(r)andon Inge Welcomes Andrew Hoppert to the Staff

Everyone please give a warm welcome to Andrew Hoppert, your newest Ab(r)andon Inge contributor.  Due to the fact that I cannot conceivably handle both Michigan and the Tigers, I asked Andrew to come aboard to take the reigns as University of Michigan Football and Basketball author.

Andrew will have an introductory post up shortly

Beer, Broads, and Tigers Baseball

Ab(r)andon Inge Staff Picks: NHL Playoffs Edition (Part 1)

The staff here at Ab(r)andon Inge has put together their individual picks for the NHL Playoffs.  

*Note: The NHL Playoffs are weird, and they re-seed following each round.  We have taken that into account with our picks, but this is just a warning in case you see some inconsistencies in terms of teams playing each other in particular rounds, etc.

Without further ado:

Ryan Prohaska (@Ryan_M_Pro)

Western Conference 1st Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (8) Los Angeles

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (7) San Jose

Winner: St. Louis

(3) Phoenix vs. (6) Chicago

Winner: Chicago

(4) Nashville vs. (5) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference 1st Round-

(1) New York vs. (8) Ottawa

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (7) Washington

Winner: Boston

(3) Florida vs. (6) New Jersey

Winner: New Jersey

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Philadelphia

Winner: Philadelphia

Western Conference 2nd Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (4) Chicago

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (3) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference 2nd Round-

(1) New York vs. (4) New Jersey

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (3) Philadelphia

Winner: Boston

Western Conference Finals-

(1) Vancouver vs. (2) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference Finals-

(1) New York vs. (2) Boston

Winner: New York

Stanley Cup Finals-

New York vs. Detroit

Winner: New York

(ed-Brian: really?  A New York team over Detroit?  You're fired)

Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski)

Western Conference 1st Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (8) Los Angeles

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (7) San Jose

Winner: The arena collapsing...but seriously...St. Louis

(3) Phoenix vs. (6) Chicago

Winner: This is why NHL seeding is dumb, Phoenix is terrible, yet are a 3-seed.  Chicago in 5 at most

(4) Nashville vs. (5) Detroit

Winner: Detroit...HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN

Eastern Conference 1st Round (do I even care?)-

(1) New York vs. (8) Ottawa

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (7) Washington

Winner: Washington...Ovechkin celly so hard

(3) Florida vs. (6) New Jersey

Winner: Florida....so that Zach Parise is so depressed he runs to Ken Holland with open arms and signs with Detroit

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Philadelphia

WInner: Pittsburgh...as much as I hate Cindy Crosby you can't deny the little girl has talent

Western Conference 2nd Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (4) Chicago

Winner: Vancouver...and I hope Patty Kane is so pissed that he takes it out on the first unsuspecting cab driver and gets suspended for life

(2) St. Louis vs. (3) Detroit

Winner: Detroit...St. Louis has had a cute season, but no one in the world can compare to the Wings in terms of playoff grit

Eastern Conference 2nd Round-

(1) New York vs. (4) Washington

Winner: Washington...because seriously fuck anything New York

(2) Florida vs. (3) Pittsburgh

Winner: Pittsburgh...because I didn't even realize that Florida had a hockey team

Western Conference Finals

(1) Vancouver vs. (2) Detroit

Winner: Van-----Lol like I'm going to pick against the Wings.  Detroit

Eastern Conference Finals-

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (2) Washington

Winner: Washington...because I want to see Sidney Crosby cry

Stanley Cups Finals

Detroit vs. Washington

Winner: DETROIT CELLY SO HARD WOO HOMER PICK

**Editors note: I will post Phil and Frank's predictions tomorrow when I can keep my eyes open

Another Vehicle Accident Derails A Career

Bobby Petrino is expected to be fired from his position as head football coach at the University of Arkansas.  While the move is highly expected, there is a bit of a moral dilemma surrounding the case.

Before we delve into the moral of the situation, it is important to first explain the entire situation.  Petrino recently crashed his motorcycle while riding along with an Arkansas football employee, identified as Jessica Dorrell.  Although Petrino was not cited for any infractions as a result of the crash, he did not mention that Dorrell was involved in the crash to university officials.  Petrino, who is married with 4 kids, has also said that he had an affair with Dorrell.  New details have emerged, citing that Petrino paid Dorrell $20,000 under the table, which I am assuming is "hush money."

That being said, the issue at question is whether or not he should have been fired.  First of all, Petrino is not the first older gentleman in a position of power to have an affair with a younger subordinate (see Clinton, Bill etc.).  Although this is an extreme abomination considering he took the vows of marriage, I see no way, shape, or form that this prevents Petrino from performing his duties as head football coach.  Call me crazy but I feel that this ordeal will not impact the football program.  The issue is how Petrino represents the football program.  I can only imagine the creative chants that other schools would come up at games, in addition to the negative press that the university would receive for employing a known adulterer.  Given the lack of success of recent post affair apologies (see Woods, Tiger), I understand why the university would not want to deal with the media firestorm surrounding the situation.  Since he also picked Dorrell from a pool of 159 applicants, it's easy to speculate that she got the job because she was porking Petrino, pardon the pun.  Although I had previously stated that Petrino should keep his job, as new details emerge, it is impossible for me to defend Petrino anymore.  The lying and cash deal make the situation an absolute dumpster fire for Arkansas.  

It will be interesting to see how this affects the program this coming year.  Many people predicted Arkansas to have a shot at the national championship.  Will a new coaching staff who will implement a new program while learning about the players still have the same chance as success?  This will definitely be a situation that many will follow throughout the coming season.      

Tigers Season Preview Part 5

In the fifth installment of my season preview series for the Tigers, I will look at the bullpen.  Like I did with the bench players, I'm not going to do a full on statistical prediction for these guys; only a relatively short preview on how I think they will do/help the Tigers in 2012.

Without further ado:

LR: Duane Below LHP

Duane Below is one of those feel good stories you can't help but smile about.  Hailing from Britton, MI (South-Central part of state), Below has never been on any "Top-10" prospect lists.  However, he has been successful at every minor league stop, finally earning his shot with the Tigers last season, and performing pretty well out of the bullpen.  Below was originally slotted to be sent to Toledo out of spring training this season, but an injury to Luis Marte had Below headed to Detroit before he could even unpack his bag.  3 games into the season, Below already has 2 wins (the first 2 of his career) and has proved to be a key contributor and the sole "long man" in Jim Leyland's bullpen.  While it wouldn't surprise me to see Below get a spot start this season at some point; I think his stuff translates better to the bullpen, where he can have some moderate success.

LR/MR: Colin Balester RHP

This is who we got in exchange for Ryan Perry from the Washington Nationals.  Considering Ryan Perry has been a grease fire of a pitcher in Detroit, the fact that we got anything more than a half-empty tin of dip and 4 week old spitter for him in a trade should be considered a steal by Dombrowski.  I don't know much about Balester other than he's the ultimate swingman; meaning that he has the ability to spot start, be a long relief guy, or come into a game to get one out.  Leyland has said that he will be the "jack of all trades" in the Tigers bullpen.  In the Max Scherzer aberration of a start on Sunday, Balester came on and pitched 2 2/3 innings of 1 run relief, which honestly, I'll take.  He also has an absolute beauty of a mustache:

We ain't talkin bout no peach fuzz; we talkin' bout handlebars

MR: Daniel Schlereth LHP

"Son of Stink", "Stink, Jr.", "Lefty", "THROW THE GODDAMNED BALL OVER THE GODDAMNED PLATE".  All of these nicknames come to mind when I think about Daniel Schlereth.  Similar to Perry in that he's a young reliever with oodles and oodles of potential that lacks the ability to consistently throw strikes.  Unlike Perry in that he's lefthanded and has had at least moderate success.  Originally tabbed as the "steal" of the Granderson/Edwin Jackson deal, he was billed as a Billy Wagner type future closer.  He's not that, but he has shown the ability, with command, to be a dominating strikeout machine against lefty hitters.  He is the designated "LOOGY" (Lefty One Out GuY) of the bullpen, meaning that in situations where a left-handed hitter is coming out and Leyland needs 1 out, Schlereth is probably the guy coming in.  He throws a fastball anywhere from 90-94, usually sitting 91-92, and a curveball that, WHEN COMMANDED, can absolutely dominate lefties.  I have my reservations about Schlereth, but as usual, I'm optimistic.

MR: Octavio Dotel RHP

The definition of "journeyman", Dotel begins his 12th season in the big leagues with Detroit, his 13th team.  Dotel was the "big" signing of the offseason prior to Prince, and should not be overlooked in terms of value.  In the ALCS against Texas, the one BIG issue that brought us down (there were several, I know) was our lack of bullpen depth.  We literally could not count on anyone except for Benoit and Valverde, and by game 4 of the ALCS, they were tapped out.  That's why Dombrowski went and signed Dotel: experience, depth, and yet still a very good pitcher.  He and Phil Coke will presumably split the 7th inning duties, as we all know how Leyland loves to play righty/lefty platoon matchups.  Dotel will be very underrated in terms of his value to the Tigers, and I would guess that he has a very good season in Detroit.  However, his true value will show up in the playoffs.

MR: Phil Coke LHP

First, follow @PhilCoke'sBrain on twitter.  You'd be doing yourself a favor, I promise.  Now, to actual baseball.  Phil Coke is one of my favorite Tigers.  From his sprinting into the game from the bullpen, to randomly pointing up every time a ball is remotely hit in the air, he brings a sort of goofiness that I believe every team needs.  He tried starting last year, didn't do so well, got moved back to the bullpen, and didn't do so well for awhile.  He picked it up down the stretch; however, providing the Tiger's with a valuable piece.  I believe he will be counted on mightily this season to be the primary lefty in Leyland's bullpen; being counted on to pitch the 7th inning and get big outs.  He can get up as high as 96 on the gun, and from the left side, that's very impressive.  He also has a good curveball that's effective on lefties, and an at least serviceable changeup.

SU: Joaquin Benoit RHP

Dombrowski really pissed some people off last offseason when he spent 16.5 million dollars over 3 years to sign an 8th inning guy.  But last year in the playoffs against the Yankees, Benoit earned every damned penny IMHO.  Benoit will again be counted on as the primary set up man to Valverde.  I also believe he is a better pitcher than Valverde, but that's just me.  Benoit throws a fastball in the mid 90's, the occasional slider, and his secret weapon is the "Vulcan" changeup, aptly named due to the "Vulcan salute" grip he throws it with.  Benoit can be dominating, but is also susceptible to strings of hits and runs.  Regardless, he's one of my Tigers, and his gutty performance in the ALDS ranks right up there for me in terms of best playoff performances.

CL: Jose Valverde RHP

I call him Papa Grande.  Phil calls him Fatty.  Either way, the engimatic Tiger's close was perfect last season, converting 49/49 regular season save opps and was 2/2 in the playoffs.  He already blew a save this season (GASP!  FIRE LEYLAND!  SHOULD HAVE LEFT JV IN!  AHHHHHH FIRE LEYLAND!), so the streak is caput.  That's fine with me, as they still won the game.  I really couldn't give any less of a shit about who "gets" the win, so long as the Tigers win the game.  As you all know, I believe Wins, Saves, and RBI are the softest, most useless stats in the world, but that's just me.  Regardless, Valverde is a good, not great, closer.  He was helped out a lot last year in terms of saves, and his non-save opp stats aren't very good.  Regardless, I'm glad he's the Tiger's closer.  We could have it worse.  It could be Todd Jones

In the Finale of the Tiger's season preview series, I will give you a preview of who you might see pop up in Detroit this season from within the Tigers farm system (this is NOT a "top prospect" list)

Adam Wilk to start for Fister; Inge to Toledo for rehab assignment

The title says it all.  Adam Wilk will be recalled from Toledo and start on Saturday in place of Doug Fister.  I'll be honest, I never really considered Wilk as a candidate to replace Fister; but seeing as both Andy Oliver and Casey Crosby underwhelmed in their respective starts, it's really not too much of a surprise.

The Tigers obviously prefer Duane Below's abilities coming out of the bullpen, and I have to agree with them.  Below is sort of a tweener type of pitcher.  He's got decent stuff and solid command, but I can't see him being successful more than one time through the batting order.  This is fine, as he fits perfectly into the role of lefty long reliever in the Tiger's pen.

The only problem is--I happen to believe that Wilk fills the same role: Long relief lefty.  Wilk has outstanding command but lacks pure stuff.  Watch Drew Smyly pitch on Tuesday: He's very similar to Wilk, just with better stuff and less command, but at least he's a decent comparison piece.

I would tend to think that Wilk will be given an incredibly short leash in terms of staying in Detroit.  If he shows the ability to get outs and keep the Tiger's in the game, he may get multiple starts as Fister heals.  But if he struggles like he did in spring training, Leyland isn't going to just throw him out there and take an automatic loss.


On a second note-one completely unrelated to the success of the Tiger's this season-Brandon Inge, the exalted one, will be sent to Toledo on a rehab assignment as he prepares to come off the DL. 

I'm not going to say anything negative here, only that it's not like we've been missing him.  We're 3-0.  Idk, it's simply this bloggers opinion that Danny Worth is more valuable to this team

Reminder: Tigers take on Tampa today at 1:05 in Detroit.  Porcello's first start of the season will be matched up with super-phenom prospect Matt Moore.  Being the prospect junkie that I am; I'm incredibly excited to see how Moore's stuff looks against a potent Detroit lineup (except Laird is playing).  It's cold as all hell in Detroit today, so Porcello could be particularly effective if his sinker is live with good movement.

Beer, Broads, and Tigers Baseball

The Impact of Trey Burke's Decision

By now you have probably heard the news; Trey Burke released a statement today saying that he will to return to Michigan.


"Over the past few weeks, I have spent a lot of time thinking and praying about my future -- not just about next year but many years down the road," Burke said. "After gathering information, I am excited to be continuing my education at Michigan as we look to accomplish even more in our 2012-13 season."


"I have so much more to develop as both a student and athlete, and there is no better place to do that than here at Michigan. I love my Michigan family and am really excited about playing with my teammates and our incoming freshmen. I want to thank my parents, my teammates and my coaches for the patience and guidance they gave me since this process began a few weeks ago.”


Burke's decision obviously means the Wolverines should still be near the top of the Big Ten. Many outlets have them ranked in the top ten heading into next season. However, doing so will be a tall order. The Wolverines will play in the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off, with possible opponents including Pittsburgh and Virginia. They will also play in the inaugural Brooklyn Winter Hoops Festival at the new Barclays Center against West Virginia, host a game in the B1G-ACC Challenge (opponent will be announced in the summer), host Arkansas, and play at Bradley.


In the end, Burke's return means the Wolverines will be locked and loaded for another run at the Big Ten Title.