Remember when Brandon Inge treated the idea of playing catcher again the same way most of us would treat having to clean a septic tank?  If you don't, that's okay.  That was so two months ago, anyway!  Forget all that stuff now.  This isn't March anymore.  This is May.  And as of May 2008, Inge likes catching - likes it like Mikey liked Life - and wants more, more, more of it.

Via MLB.com's Jason Beck:

"When I'm in there, I'm dedicated," Inge said.  "I want to call a game.  I take pride in it.  It has definitely changed, I think, for the better."

Inge isn't just open to the idea of giving Pudge Rodriguez a rest whenever he needs it this season, either.  He's also beginning to sing a tune the Tigers have been waiting to hear since February, expressing interest in possibly taking over as the full-time catcher next year.  Third base is always going to be the girl he wish he was with, though.

Courtesy of the Detroit News' Lynn Henning:

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna lie," Inge said of his third base romance, "but I'm good with the catching, too.  I don't like sitting.

Besides realizing that catching may not be as bad as he may have been dreading over the winter and spring (unless he's just saying what he thinks Jim Leyland, Dave Dombrowski, and Tigers fans want to hear), it may also be dawning on Inge that he's probably not going anywhere.  Unless a team decides that it absolutely needs a third baseman for the stretch run, and wants Inge so bad that they might offer a major league caliber pitcher in return (not to mention picking up some of his salary), this is a relationship that looks highly likely to continue.  And maybe Inge is finally getting used to that idea. 

Considering that Detroit may have been looking at having to offer Pudge big money to come back again in 2009 because the organization's catching situation looks so bleak right now (a subject which really deserves its own blog post), this is potentially good news for both sides involved.

What better way to spend an off-night than to talk Detroit Tigers with a buddy?  Mike McClary invited me to sit in on the latest episode of The Detroit Tigers Podcast.  We scratch our heads over Gary Sheffield and Jeremy Bonderman, ponder the future of Armando Galarraga, and wonder whether Brandon Inge should just get used to being a Tiger this season.

You can download Episode #45 directly from this link or head on over to the DTP's home page and/or The Daily Fungo for more.  

If you get a chance, please let Mike know what you think.  You can offer feedback by posting a comment (here or there) or calling in to his listener line (602-903-5174). 

Appreciation in advance for downloading and listening.  And once again, thanks to Mike for helping out with game recaps while I was traveling down south.

What, we worry?

Following a horrifying Spring Training, Dontrelle Willis facing a rugged (despite horrible choices in facial hair) White Sox lineup had all the makings of a Saturday afternoon horror show.  It wasn't pretty, as Willis gave up seven walks in five innings, showing that the control problems he had in Lakeland are still a significant issue.  But he was effective, allowing only one hit, which is what the Tigers needed out of him.

But there's one big question mark the D-Train is dragging behind him right now, and that's his injury status. From the way he was shaking his hand and looking at it after his last few pitches to Orlando Cabrera, I wonder if maybe he developed a problem with a blister or fingernail.  If it's something worse, like a shoulder or forearm, Willis shouldn't try to be a tough guy and fight through it.  That's exactly the sort of thing that got the pitching staff in trouble last season.  With Monday's off-day, the Tigers could skip Willis's next turn if he needs it.

The Kid Stays in the Picture?

Depending on how Curtis Granderson is healing from his broken hand, the Tigers could be facing a tough decision with the sweet-swinging Clete Thomas.  Sure, it's a small sample size and maybe he's taking advantage of opposing pitchers' unfamiliarity with him right now, but after four games (14 at-bats), Clete's average is an impressive .500/.500/.571.  He's been playing well enough to reduce Ryan Raburn to an afterthought in the Tigers' current plans, and has really been the only consistent bat in Detroit's lineup since getting promoted to the starting lineup.

Will Clete eventually get squeezed out in a roster crunch?  Probably.  This early in the season, the Tigers likely weren't going to choose him over Jacque Jones, and Jones' bat is beginning to show some life, anyway.  And Clete is surely better off getting regular at-bats with Toledo, rather than cooling on the bench in Detroit.  But in what's been a frustrating, baffling opening week for the Tigers, at least there's been a fun story to follow.

Brandon Inge won't make that decision process any easier, either.  Can the Tigers afford to take his bat (.375/.474/.875, two home runs, four RBIs) out of the lineup right now?

He Can Be Center Field

Before the season began, I was trading instant messages with Kurt of Mack Avenue Tigers, and we wondered what the White Sox were thinking in making Nick Swisher their starting center fielder.  With the big center fields in the AL Central, how many extra-base hits would the Sox give up?  Obviously, I didn't know what the hell I was talking about.  Swisher was everywhere yesterday, snaring balls at the warning track and waiting for anything the Tigers hit into the gap.

If It's Any Consolation...

If I told you that the Cleveland Indians are also nursing a losing streak, having lost three in a row while also struggling with their bats, is that something that might interest you?

First of all, thanks to everyone who posted comments in the first Game Thread of the season.  I know we have a long (long) way to go before we catch up to several of the other SB Nation communities out there.  (Look at what Royals Review did today.)  But for the fledgling BYB brigade, this was a fantastic start.  Hopefully, it wasn't just the dazzle of Opening Day that brought everyone out.  If we keep this up and build on the discussion, we're going to have a lot of fun around here this season.

The weather favored the Tigers today.  Not only didn't it rain on the Opening Day Comerica Park crowd, but a national audience to see this game as the Jays-Yankees opener from Yankee Stadium was rained out, and ESPN switched over to Royals-Tigers.  Unfortunately for Detroit, the home team didn't show off that winning growl this afternoon, despite an excellent opportunity to tie the game (and perhaps win) in the 11th inning.

Oh No - The Bullpen:

The best thing for the Tigers' bullpen in the first game of the season would've been to protect a lead, come out in succession - Zach Miner in the 7th, Denny Bautista in the 8th, Todd Jones in the 9th - and give everyone some assurance about the late-inning relief.  The bullpen was indeed handed a lead, but couldn't hold onto it.  In fairness, Jason Grilli came into a difficult situation in the 7th, with runners on first and third and no outs.  (Of course, he didn't have to serve up that fat a pitch to John Buck...)  After Bobby Seay got his designated left-handed hitter out, Aquilino Lopez made a decent pitch to Mark Grudzielanek, who smoked it to the opposite field.

Maybe you could second-guess Jim Leyland's choice of relievers in that 7th inning, but in a situation where the Tigers were likely to give up a run, maybe he wanted to see if he could get away with saving his best set-up men for late in the game.  If he had to do it all over again, however, I wonder if Leyland would've brought in Miner or Bautista for that situation.

He Giveth and Taketh Away:

We saw some of the best and maybe the worst of Brandon Inge in center field today.  The Royals threatened to blow the game open in the 8th when Inge dove for a Mark Teahen drive into the left-center gap.  It's hard to fault a guy for making an all-out effort like that, but when it comes to diving for a ball, you have to pick and choose your spots carefully.  Maybe Inge thought he had a chance to make the catch, but on TV, that ball looked three to four feet beyond his reach.  Better to let the ball drop and keep the batter to a single than to give up extra bases trying to make an impossible play.  Fortunately, the Royals stranded Teahen at third base.

Inge got Teahen back in the 11th, however, gunning him down at home plate when he tried to score on a single, and kept the ballgame tied.

Tiger Power: 

Miguel Cabrera's first home run in the Olde English D might be what more people talk about tonight and tomorrow, but Carlos Guillen brought his Big Boi bat today.  Detroit's new first baseman went 3-for-5, and probably provided the most dramatic hit of the day when he tied the game in the eighth with a solo home run (showing off a classic, power-hitting first baseman's swing) off Brett Tomko.