Well, I got what I wanted, Brandon Inge was an all star this year. I for one am over the moon for him. Seriously. Inge has to be one of the most underrated defensive third basemen in baseball, and if you ask me has the most range of any guy who can play the hot corner in the bigs. And there’s some damn good ones out there too. Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, Evan Longoria. We could go on. But Inge deserved this nod at the all star game this year. He’s worked so hard, and really, as Jim Leyland attested to at the start of this year, is a big reason why the Tigers are atop the AL Central right now.
I would love for Brandon to win a gold glove, but maybe that and an All star nod are too much to ask for in one season? Still, if Inge can keep his batting average around .270, hit a few more bombs and maintain his ever solid play at third, then perhaps he’s got a chance.
Having said that, I’m a little weary about him heading into the second half. The one thing I hate about the home run derby is that it forces hitters to swing for the fences. It’s not like BP, where you can work on timing, or line drives, or have the pitching coach throw you a ton of breaking balls to get your act together. And unfortunately, it throws a lot of guys off. Take Bobby Abreu for example. In 2005, Bobby had this line going into the break:
.307/.428/.526 18HR, 58RBI
Then, in a mammoth showdown with Pudge Rodriguez at Comerica in the homer run derby, Abreu hit 41 total homers. But then check out his line after the break:
.260/.376/.411 6HR, 44RBI.
See what I mean? Inge is also a slightly better 1st half hitter than a second half hitter, coming in at .245/.324/.429 before the break and .233/.289/.368 after. However, more importantly, Inge has just experienced a monumental high point in his career with his selection to St Louis. Some could say the only way is down, but I disagree. With Inge’s work ethic, he should be just fine. Just as long as he remembers that he’s not a pure power hitter and keeps working on the things that got him off to .319 clip in April.
Speaking of all star third basemen, let’s talk a little about Ryan Zimmerman. And I’m not just mentioning him because of his 30 game hitting streak he had earlier this year. no way. this guy, like Inge, is a spectacular defender at third, making great plays night after night. Take for instance, the Nationals/Red Sox game on 25th June that I watched. I hadn’t watched a Nationals game all year in full, and it was John Smoltz first start for the Sox. Great game, with young Nationals righty Jordan Zimmermann on the mound. Jordan might well have been the story, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball, but Ryan came up with countless defensive plays that would have made Baseball tonights webgems anyday. Hell, he’s a human webgem.
And while the Nationals still suck, they’ve got some promise. Zimmerman and Zimmermann (yes they are spelt differently as I discovered on that night against the Red Sox) have high ceilings, and they’ve got a slew of other young arms coming too. Ross Detwiler, Collin Balester, Shairon Martis has shown flashes this year, and 2009 first rounder Drew Storen is already wowing people with more than just high 90′s heat. If they can get Stephen Strasburg signed then who knows. But one things for sure, the Nats are building things the right way. Pitching and defense first. Plus, they’ve got one hell of a beautiful ballpark. I’d love for them to succeed. But it’ll come. These things take time.
Here’s a quick peek of the games I’ll be keeping an eye on over the next 2 days:
Thursday:
Cubs @ Nationals – Harden vs Detwiler. Great matchup of a dominating righty vs a young lefty at gorgeous Nationals Park. Couldn’t be better.
Friday:
Red Sox @ Blue Jays – Buccholz vs Romero. Even though I detest Rogers Centre and it’s artificial turf and cookie cutter feel, this matchup is a gem. Clay Buccholz returns to the majors and faces one of the hottest rookie pitchers in the AL in Romero in an AL East showdown. Should be a good un.
Astros @ Dodgers – Oswalt vs Billingsley. What more can I say about this? What a pitching matchup at Chavez Ravine. Oswalt’s been hot recently and Billingsley has been dominant all year long. I can’t wait!
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