This is one of those situations where it a big trade for the Yanks and a bad one for the Tigers...well maybe Not to say that Pudge will do any better than what he did here...the HOF pugdey is no longer playing, it is just the swing at first pitch Pudge.... Now we are back to Inge...he currently has more strikeouts than hits..can he get the timely hits and by the way who is his back-up?? Whats next? Should we trade Sheffield and Joyce to the Sox for Manny? The tigers need pitching but one-save-s-far-this-year Farnsworth? Can he be that guy who JL can count on when Zemaya, Fernando and Toad are not getting the job done or blowing saves? .. The one thing that we will look back on at the end of the season is if the Yanks beat out the Tigers for the wild card by a half game.
Pudge is hitting .295! We have Inge, who doesn't want to be a catcher, and no other backups. When our bullpen was decimated, this would have made sense. Now, we get everyone back and we add one more? At least Farnsworth is pitching OK lately. Maybe it will work out, but I don't like replacing a .295 hitter with postseason experience for a .210 hitting out-of-position player.
ESPN showed clips of Farnsworth in tears....Pudge is probably ecstactic and probably ourchased a NY cap at the local sporting goods store before heading to NY.
I was trying to be positive about this trade just wishing we are not throwing in the towel on this season. Hearing Farnsworth say he "had" to play in Detroit in 2005 and that he wanted to finish out his contract in New York doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. The guy obviously does not want to come here so why did we trade for him? Farnsworth rather play in a city like New York where last season the fans and media hated his guts and talked about him like a dog. According to what the Tigers GM said Pudge always wanted to play of the Yankees.
I'm not really a big Inge fan, but you're exaggerating the numbers some. Inge is actually batting .230, not .210. The on-base-percentage are about the same: Pudge .338, Inge .323 Despite much fewer at bats (178 vs. 302), Inge has 9 HR to Pudge 5 HR. Pudge has only 32 RBI compared to 30 for Inge (again, with much fewer AB). Defensively, it's probably a wash. The biggest loss, IMO, is Pudge's fire and passion for the game. With his departure, you take away a big piece of the team's heart.
I played on a co-ed softball team this summer. Swinging at the first pitch was my modus operandi. Despite my wild swings, my base hit percentage was excellent.
Watching this abysmal bullpen that Tigers have nowadays, makes me think that even Farnsworth that doesn't want to be in Detroit would be a huge upgrade.
