[Editor's Note: Promoted from the FanPosts.  John Kmiecik will be doing this throughout the offseason.  You can read his work at 2100 Woodward.]

Brandon Inge during batting practice August 25th via Tigers superfan Allison Hagen

Brandon Inge is, without a doubt, a fan favorite in Detroit. With the organization since 1999 (entering the bigs in 2001) Inge is the longest-serving member of the squad. Inge was one of the most popular Tigers during the "Who's Your Tiger?" marketing campaign run by the Tigers for a few season. He also continuously scored well in FSD's player of the game text message polls no matter what his day at the plate or in the field may have gone.

Off the field Inge is a regular visitor to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI where he regularly visits to talk with the kids there. TBS did a story about his efforts, especially how he helped touch the lives of two particular boys. Read on for the full review.

2009 Notes

Inge played in his 1000th career game on April 13th in a 10-6 loss against the Chicago White Sox. Following his strong first half with 21 home runs, he was nominated to the All-Star Game in the Final Vote for the AL. Unfortunately he must have emptied the power tank on his way to the Home Run Derby, where he posted a big fat donut. The discerning Tigers fan probably saw this coming anyway, as he was a solid 4 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than any other Derby contestant.

On a Monday night in Anaheim this year, Inge wandered into a tattoo shop and had his son's names boldly added down each of his forearms. The memory that will be burned into Tiger's fans' heads for some years to come will be his phantom HBP in game 163 against the Minnesota Twins, which if called, would have forced in a run to give Detroit the lead at the top of the 12th inning.

OFFENSE

April

Inge started off the season with an absolute smash. After making some adjustments to his batting stance in the off-season, he came out firing and as a result posted his highest average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of the season. Anyone posting in GameThreads or following the Tigers closely at the time could tell you that Inge was a sigh of relief at the plate considering how his 2008 had gone.

I remember mentioning to my co-workers that he was on pace for 162 home runs as he went yard in the first 3 games of the season. He sported a 1.114 OPS for April, which was just shy of Albert "IBB" Pujols' OPS of 1.132 in the same span. He gained a great deal of plate discipline as his K/BB ratio plummeted to 1.07, just under half his 2008 ratio of 2.18. His biggest game of the month game on April 12th when the Rangers came to town. He led off the inning by hitting a 2-0, no out dinger to deep right. By the time he cycled back to the plate the Tigers had tied the game 4-4 and his sharp ground single to center allowed Cabrera and a pinch-running Anderson to score for the eventual final of 6-4.

May

May was "crash back to Earth" month for Inge. Both his OBP and SLG were 200 points off his April pace, and his batting average dropped over 80 points. This was the Inge that Tigers fans have known for years on offense. In 28 games this month, Inge posted a donut in 11 of them. He struck out a staggering 31 times to only 7 walks, cranking his K/BB ratio to a sky-high 4.42. His May was relatively unremarkable, except against a 13-1 slaughtering of the Royals on May 25th at Kauffman Stadium. Inge was 3 for 6 in that game, plating Ordoñez and Cabrera in the top of the third to open up the scoring on a single to left. He continued in the fifth to load the bases for Clete Thomas and eventually himself came around to score. His third hit was an otherwise unremarkable single to left.

June

June fared a bit better for the beloved 3B, with season-high RBI and an average that gained 50 points over his dismal May. Inge played long ball 6 times in June, helping crank his slugging percentage closer to where his season began. His K/BB ratio came back under control similar to his career numbers, showing some regaining of plate discipline on display early in the season.

On June 7th against the Angels, the Tigers were quickly down 3-0 after the top of the first with Porcello on the mound. In the bottom of that inning, Inge was up with 2 outs and bases loaded. He lined the 0-1 pitch from Saunders to right allowing Polanco and Ordoñez to score, keeping the Tigers in the game for their eventual 9-6 win. In a rare Dontrelle Willis start 2 days later, Inge pulled a solo shot off Mark Buehrle and drew walks in back-to-back plate appearances en route to a 10th inning win.

July

If May was "crash back to Earth" then July has to be "drilling a hole to the center of the Earth" for Inge. Even with the All-Star break shortening his service by 5 games this month, his RBI count was the lowest of the season at just seven, stranding 15 runners in scoring position and another 12 standing at first for his longest RBI-less streak of the season at 13 games. His batting average fell 100 points and an on-base percentage 84 points. Even with these poor numbers, the slugging percentage clearly stands out here -- 3 home runs and 1 double this month led to a 220 point drop in power.

The explanation of this poor performance was the patellar tendinitis Inge had played through all season finally catching up to him. This issue wasn't exactly a state secret among Tigers fans, but hadn't gotten much press until Inge's numbers took this drastic dive. Lynn Henning (please, control your booing and hissing) quoted Leyland as being "worried about Inge…very concerned."

Inge, on the other hand, shrugged off the skipper's concern. Chris Iott quoted Inge saying "if [head athletic trainer Kevin Rand] said, 15 days and you're never going to feel it again, you'll be as good as new, I'd [go on the DL]." However Rand had advised Inge that a short DL stay likely wouldn't help, leading Inge to play through the pain in order to help the team. The result of that decision is questionable with his July numbers being what they were.

Many BYB faithful will remember staying up until 1am Eastern in the early morning of July 4th watching the 16 inning affair at The Infernal Hellhole in Minnesota. Inge didn't do much of anything this game offensively, but he did manage to get hit by a pitch in back-to-back at bats. 2 of his 3 home runs this month came on July 12th at Comerica, in a 10-1 shellacking against the Indians.

August

Inge's injuries certainly continued to plague him in August, mustering only 2 more RBI. His average up only 2 points, his on-base percentage dropped a further 58 points while his slugging climbed 4 points on the back of an extra home run compared to July. His K/BB ratio was the highest this month than the rest of the season, at 6.60 as he struck out 33 times and walked only 5 times (1 intentional, Eric Wedge apparently knew that Dusty Ryan was hitting even worse than Inge).

Perhaps the biggest story with Inge in August was his sudden trip to the tattoo shop, partially visible in the photo above. Allison Hagen has more shots from the Angels game Inge first appeared in with his new ink over on her Flickr page for the game, if you want to get a better look. Leyland was quoted bemoaning Inge's trouble at the plate but noting the jam he was in, "don't know what the hell I'm going to play at third" if he were to try to give Inge some time off.

Even with the bad news going on for over a month with Inge, the shining point of his season came on August 14th against the Royals in Detroit. Zack Greinke had gone 7 innings allowing only 3 hits; Jarod Washburn had gone 8 innings also allowing only 3 hits. In the bottom of the ninth following a Marcus Thames strikeout, Inge pulled the 2-1 delivery from Roman Colon into deep left field for a walk-off victory and the only run in the game. 6 days later when the Mariners came to town, Inge helped drive in the bottom of the 9th rally. He sacrificed to deep center, allowing Guillen to score and on an error allowed Cabrera to reach third. The following at bat, Clete Thomas drove Cabrera in for his second walk-off hit of the year.

September/October

September offered some minor improvement for Inge, hitting better with RISP as his RBI count came close to what he did at the beginning of the year. His average and OBP nudged up while slugging fell off a bit as he only went yard twice. His slugging could have been worse but Inge doubled 5 times this month, after hitting 11 all season prior.

On September 6th, the Tigers visited Tropicana Field and the Tampa Bay Rays. Down 3-1 in the top of the 9th, Inge powered a 2-2 pitch from Russ Springer to deep left field for a grand slam to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead and an eventual win after Brandon Lyon had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th. Inge also had a hand in the September 30th win over the Twins and Carl Pavano after a liner to left-center field for a double plated both Cabrera and Ordoñez in the bottom of the second to tie the game 2-2. Santiago's single to center plated both Guillen and Inge, good enough for the eventual 7-2 win.

These 2 games aside, this span wasn't remarkable for Inge. In the month of October Inge only had 2 hits in 19 at-bats. Inge did play an important part in game 163, as his line drive to left plated pinch-runner Don Kelly in the top of the 10th to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead.

DEFENSE, VALUE AND THOUGHTS

Inge's most rabid supporters have consistently claimed that his fielding prowess outweighs his offensive shortcomings. In 1387.0 innings of service this season, Inge only committed 20 errors for an error every 69.35 innings good for his lowest rate at 3B since 2004.

Dave Cameron's calculations put Inge's defensive value at 8.5 runs above the league average 3B while his offense falls 7.9 runs short. Only 8 3B in the league had a better fielding value than Inge (min. 100 PA) while 45 did better offensively.

Meanwhile Casey Blake, the 3B for the Dodgers, had a defensive value of 8.4 runs and an offensive value of 13.5 runs. So, could the Tigers do better offensively and keep the defense relatively steady? Absolutely. Blake even cost $1.9m less than Inge did this season. It's too late with Blake, as he's locked up until 2011 (2012 club option) and would demand north of $18m in free agency. Inge's UZR per 150 games for 3B has been steadily falling since his phenomenal 2006 campaign. Only time will tell if the off-season will be kind to Inge's knees, and he can recover some of that range that Inge fans missed this season.

It's difficult to put a quantitative number onto a position that is qualitative by nature; excellent measurements for talent, prowess and field awareness simply don't do a player justice sometimes. However if you're a believer that defense wins divisions you will probably land on the side that Inge is worth what we're paying him for what we're getting out of him.

However, those that believe Inge's failing bat has much to do with the Tigers' woes this season would probably like to see Inge return to his April form or even have him replaced. Kurt from Mack Avenue Tigers opined on this in my initial season review post when this same discussion came up. Kurt argues that Inge's value is placed at $11m for this season, while he only made $6.3m. He gets a bump next year to $6.6m which if you buy into this measure of value means we'll be getting Inge at a steal. I'll admit, after writing this review I sit on the fence. The numbers from 2009 speak for themselves and I have to wonder what his future is beyond his contract that expires at the end of next season.

What do you think? Is Inge worth it at 3B, or should the Tigers pursue a better bat after 2010? Do you believe Inge's season was as bad as the numbers make them out to be? Please leave your comments below about Inge or this review series. Up next: Magglio Ordoñez.