Brandon Inge to Participate in Home Run Derby

[Mschottey1985]

Any Chance Here?

[DaYooperASBDT]

He's going to win it.

[Eric Cioe]

Originally Posted by DaYooperASBDT

He's going to win it.

Agreed.

[Tint]

I don't love the idea of him doing this.

[Jeremy"Cy" Bonderman]

He can drive a golf ball 300 yards! Of course he's going to win this.

[DennisDubay]

He committed an error today, I expect mlb to do the right thing and have him put down tonight.

Cal Ripken is said to be taking his place - good will move on mlb's part.

[FloridaTigers]

Originally Posted by Tint

I don't love the idea of him doing this.

Whats the worse that could happens? He goes back to being Pre-2009 Inge? If that happens, just break his toe.

[whitecapwendy]

It is his childhood dream to participate in a home run derby. I hope he wins.

[Corky]

Originally Posted by Mschottey1985

Any Chance Here?

What do your sources tell you?

[DennisDubay]

Originally Posted by Corky

What do your sources tell you?

My source can kick your sources ***.

[Elevate]

I'm happy for him. But Guillen will sure have to step up in the 2nd half because Inge will be ruined.

[tigerfanfromchicago]

So, are we all going to sit on MTS and type "BINGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!" every time he hits one?

[tigerfanfromchicago]

Scott Pickens will pitch to Inge according to the Detroit News. The Tigers are so good, even the bullpen catcher is going to the All Star Game!

[Lbh24]

Originally Posted by tigerfanfromchicago

So, are we all going to sit on MTS and type "BINGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!" every time he hits one?

that will be awesome

[Eric Cioe]

Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.

[jackson_cannery]

Originally Posted by Eric Cioe

Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.
Touch 'em all.

That would be hilarious, if Inge runs the bases after every one.

[Sports_Freak]

I just have two worries about this;

1. The HRB could ruin his swing by getting into bad habits.

2. He'll swing and miss several times and embarrass himself and the Tiger organization.

[The Truman Show]

Originally Posted by Sports_Freak

I just have two worries about this;

1. The HRB could ruin his swing by getting into bad habits.

2. He'll swing and miss several times and embarrass himself and the Tiger organization.

Jim Leyland called that idea [baloney]. Although something tells me he didn't actually say baloney.

[rhino]

It will be fun to watch him. He does have a surprising amount of power for a smaller guy. I wish him luck.

[jackson_cannery]

He's going to surprise people. This could put Inge on the map.

[Jeremy"Cy" Bonderman]

Originally Posted by tigerfanfromchicago

Scott Pickens will pitch to Inge according to the Detroit News. The Tigers are so good, even the bullpen catcher is going to the All Star Game!

Maybe the Tigers could recall Dontrelle to pitch to him.

Then again, you can't hit a home run if the ball never finds the strike zone. Carry on.

[Tyrus]

I'm not good at crunching numbers, but I'm certain there's an easy way to determine if the myth is true -- whether participants of the home run derby indeed do worse in the second half.

[LJK004]

Originally Posted by Jeremy"Cy" Bonderman

Maybe the Tigers could recall Dontrelle to pitch to him.

Then again, you can't hit a home run if the ball never finds the strike zone. Carry on.

Forget that, Zumaya is the one serving up gopher balls. Maybe, bring in Bondo, just tell him its the first inning.

Seriously though, Brandon should put on a pretty good show. Does anyone know if ESPN is replaying that night, or am I going to have to wait until Tuesday?

[DGTigers]

The home run derby will not ruin anyone's swing any more than tossing a ball underhand to a kid in the stands will ruin a pitcher's delivery. I'm pretty sure that a lot of baseball players like to play golf and that's a much more different swing than home run derby is. It's another day of BP. His swing is more likely to get messed up playing in one of the smaller ballparks around the league or facing a guy who throws a knuckleball than it will taking batting practice in front of a packed house.

[marcy.rae]

numbers schmumbers. haters whatever. this is so exciting!! i feel like my little boy is going off into the real world.

this is like.. his life's dream.. so let him realize it :)

[The Truman Show]

Originally Posted by Jeremy"Cy" Bonderman

Maybe the Tigers could recall Dontrelle to pitch to him.

Then again, you can't hit a home run if the ball never finds the strike zone. Carry on.

I think Inge would rather have Jose Valverde pitching.

[ToledoTigerFan]

The answer is "March, 2010". The question is "how long will it take to correct Inge's swing after participating in the Home Run Derby?"

[Biff Mayhem]

I wasn't going to watch the HRD because it's sheer boredom and too much Berman but now I might have to tune in.

[Yoda]

People saying the HRD is just batting practice have no clue of what batting practice really. Probably the most laughable thing I've read on here in a long time. I'm not going to say it'll ruin his swing, I think it's just a myth, but I wouldn't be so quick to just dismiss simply because you're going rah-rah over your favorite player.

[Hongbit]

Originally Posted by Biff Mayhem

I wasn't going to watch the HRD because it's sheer boredom and too much Berman

Couldn't agree more about Berman. He's totally ruined this event for me.

[waffel]

Yeah, Berman is pretty bad. There is so many times you can hear "BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK GONE!" before you have to mute it.

[DGTigers]

Originally Posted by Yoda

People saying the HRD is just batting practice have no clue of what batting practice really. Probably the most laughable thing I've read on here in a long time. I'm not going to say it'll ruin his swing, I think it's just a myth, but I wouldn't be so quick to just dismiss simply because you're going rah-rah over your favorite player.

It's just batting practice where you can take unlimited pitches and only swing at the ones you are confident you can hit out. In real games and in real bp you'll have to swing at some pitches that you think you can hit well, but maybe not well enough. You can put a little bit more into each of your swings because you don't have to swing at anything that isn't right in your wheel house. You can't do it all the time in real BP (it would take all day) but the swings should be no different than if one is grooved during normal BP or the game for that matter. It's kind of like unlimited 3-0 counts where you have the green light. If a player gets a cockshot, he'll try to hit it as hard as he possibly can in that count.

[tiger337]

A lot of players avoid the home run derby because they say it either makes them tired or messes up their swing. Maybe they just use that as an excuse but several players have said things like that.

[DGTigers]

Originally Posted by tiger337

A lot of players avoid the home run derby because they say it either makes them tired or messes up their swing. Maybe they just use that as an excuse but several players have said things like that.

I don't believe the "makes them tired" excuse that I have also heard so many players use. These guys are suppose to be professional athletes. Sure, hitting is very tiring, but it's not a lasting tiredness that is going to stick with them for a day or more. It's more likely a fear of being embarrassed or having their egos take a hit. I don't particularly enjoy the home run derby, but if one of the reasons you are picked for the all star team is because of your home run hitting ability, and the fans want to see it, nobody should turn it down (barring an injury of course).

I would think that the best baseball players in the world are able to go up there and swing hard at some pitches and not totally screw up what they have practiced thousands of hours in order to perfect the technique of their swing through muscle memory. It's not like they are up there hitting underhand tosses, they pitcher is throwing from the same position and just as hard as a normal BP. Maybe they are superstitious and think it might have an affect, but in reality, it will have no actual physiological affect.

[Tyrus]

Originally Posted by tiger337

A lot of players avoid the home run derby because they say it either makes them tired or messes up their swing. Maybe they just use that as an excuse but several players have said things like that.

Is there an easy way to check the first- and second-half stats of hitters who have participated in the derby, to determine whether this is a myth?

[ToledoTigerFan]

Originally Posted by Hongbit

Couldn't agree more about Berman. He's totally ruined this event for me.

The first 10,000 times or so he said "back, back, back" it was kind of clever. Now? Not so much.

[tiger337]

Originally Posted by Tyrus

Is there an easy way to check the first- and second-half stats of hitters who have participated in the derby, to determine whether this is a myth?

I think it would be more complicated than that. A lot of players make the all-star game because they had good first halves so you would expect them to slow down in the second half - home run derby or not. You would have to adjust for that somehow.

[tigerkid23]

Originally Posted by Tyrus

Is there an easy way to check the first- and second-half stats of hitters who have participated in the derby, to determine whether this is a myth?

From last season:

Hamilton
Pre-All Star: .310/.367/.552 (21 HRs in 377 ABs)
Post-All Star: .296/.376/.498 (11 HRs in 247 ABs)

Longoria
Pre-All Star: .275/.348/.513 (16 HRs in 306 Abs)
Post-All Star: .268/.331/.570 (11 HRs in 142 ABs)

Morneau
Pre-All Star: .323/.391/.512 (14 HRs in 365 ABs)
Post-All Star: .267/.350/.481 (9 HRs in 258 ABs)

Sizemore
Pre-All Star: .273/.374/.539 (23 HRs in 362 ABs)
Post-All Star: .261/.375/.452 (10 HRs in 272 ABs)

Berkman
Pre-All Star: .347/.443/.653 (22 HRs in 334 ABs)
Post-All Star: .259/.384/.436 (7 HRs in 220 ABs)

Braun
Pre-All Star: .286/.324/.549 (23 HRs in 377 ABs)
Post-All Star: .282/.351/.560 (14 HRs in 234 ABs)

Uggla
Pre-All Star: .286/.374/.605 (23 HRs in 301 ABs)
Post-All Star: .226/.343/.396 (9 HRs in 230 ABs)

Utley
Pre-All Star: .291/.372/.582 (25 HRs in 364 ABs)
Post-All Star: .292/.390/.465 (8 HRs in 243 ABs)

[ToledoTigerFan]

I think it depends on the skill level of the hitter. Someone like Inge, who does his best when not trying to pull everything, might be affected by an exercise that almost requires him to pull everything. It could resurrect some bad habits.

[Tyrus]

I wouldn't mind a home run derby, but they've got to make it different somehow. It's way too boring the way it is now.

I propose they make the number of consecutive home runs the point of the competition, rather than the number of homers hit in each round. And the focus would be on head-to-head competition between an AL and NL player.

Under this scheme, the batter gets three outs. The highest number of home runs hit in a row during his at-bat would be what the opposing team would shoot for.

Say Inge leads off the competition. He hits a homer, then makes an out. Then he hits four more homers before making his second out. He hits another two before he makes the third out.

Now, it's the NL's turn. Shane Victorino will try to beat Inge's 4 straight homers before making three outs. If he does, the NL gets a point. If he hits less than 4, they lose a point. And if he ties, nobody gets a point.

Let's say the most homers Shane hits in a row during his turn at bat is 3. The AL gets a point. Then you bring in another AL and NL pair and begin the compeition anew. Whoever has the most points after 10 rounds wins. In the event of a tie, you could have a showdown between any players the managers pick.

The head-to-head competition would make this interesting. Managers of each respective team would have to choose their parings carefully.

Managers could flip a coin to determine who gets first pick before each round. Say the NL manager, Charlie Manuel, wins the coin toss and chooses Albert Pujols. The AL manager, Maddon, would have to decide: "Do I want to waste ARod against Pujols, or do I save him for a lesser NL opponent, thus increasing our league's chance to get a point?"

I think those rules would keep things livelier than endless watching homers hit between 10 outs.