Kuzul

Apparently the Detroit Tigers think it is a good idea to send down an impressive part-time player in his rookie season and call up a career .234 hitter to replace him. I awoke this morning and to my horror found out the Tigers had sent Andy Dirks to the Toledo Mud-Hens only to call up Brandon Inge.

Before Inge was sent down earlier this year, he was hitting .177 in 70 games played. Meanwhile in 61 games played Andy Dirks has hit .257.  The Tigers management must not be able to do simple baseball mathematics. .257 is eighty points higher than .177 for all you stat geeks out there.

Wilson Betemit was traded to the Tigers to replace Inge. Since then Betemit has hit an even .300. In fact Betemit has two home runs in 19 games; in fifty-seven games with the Royals he hit three home runs. He has also come through in clutch situations, providing a much-needed bat in the lineup.

Meanwhile Inge would have struck out in these situations. I’m not bashing Inge by any means, I’m just stating the obvious. It should also be noted that Wilson Betemit makes an even $1 million and Brandon Inge is making $5.5 million for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Don Kelly has been the Tigers’ secret weapon over the past couple years. He has played every position (even pitcher) for the Tigers. He has been splitting time with Betemit at third since Inge’s departure.  When Kelly hasn’t been manning third base, he’s found himself being used as a defensive replacement or playing in the outfield. Overall Kelly has carved an excellent niche for himself and has done what has been expected of him.

The Tigers are doomed if Inge is going to be playing every day again. Wilson Betemit and Andy Dirks provided consistent bats for the Tigers this year. Unfortunately Dirks will now be toiling around in the minors until September and Betemit will be used as a pinch-hitter. Instead of seeing Betemit coming through with clutch hits, Tigers fans will be forced to watch Brandon Inge strikeout with two on and two out.       

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The situation is simple. It’s late in a scoreless ballgame, there are no outs and the number six batter gets a single up the middle. It would only make perfect sense for the next batter to bunt and move the base runner to second, right?

In today’s game bunting is apparently no longer necessary.  The number seven hitter swings for the fences and ends up grounding into a double play, squandering a potential run.  This is one of baseball’s biggest flaws. Instead of moving the runner over and recording a productive out, managers simply wait for their offense to kick in.

Bunting was a vital part of the game back in the day and managers used this move frequently to score runs.  Guys like Rod Carew could have bunted .300 if they chose to.  Eddie Collins has 512 sacrifices—the most in the Majors—to go along with 3,000 plus hits and over 700 stolen bases.

Of course his hitting and base running gets more attention than his unselfish play, mainly because hits and steals are more glamorous than bunts.  Being a member of the 3,000 hits club and 500 steals club sounds a lot more prestigious than having the most bunts in MLB history.

In 2003 the Japanese media was covering a player who had broken a seemingly unbreakable record. No, it was not the home run record, it was the bunting record.  Masahiro Kawai broke Eddie Collins’s record for most sacrifice bunts. 

In fact, Kawai’s team celebrated at the stadium by showing fireworks on the scoreboard and having a flowery ceremony for him.  His proud wife and children were in attendance and the fans gave Kawai a standing ovation.  In the last plate appearance of his career Kawai laid down a sacrifice bunt.

If Kawai did this in the MLB, would it be greeted with this kind of fanfare?  Probably not, because Americans don’t appreciate bunting as much as the Japanese do.  If Kawai broke the record over here he would be mentioned briefly on ESPN. The fans at the game would give him a generous applause, but would they recognize that it truly takes a talented ballplayer to bunt?

I’m not saying every player that is good at bunting should be in the Hall of Fame. What I’m saying is that these players should be appreciated for having a skill that is gradually disappearing from baseball. 

Managers do not seem to recognize the fact that bunting can win games and confuse the opponent’s defense.  Mike Scioscia recognizes the importance of bunting in baseball and uses this—along with stealing bases—to win games when his offense is stagnant.  Managers and other baseball players have to realize that bunting is not “small ball,” its baseball.      

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During the last weeks of July there will be major trades coming for MLB.  This article will provide some answers as to why major league teams trade away certain players; whether it is to make a playoff push or if they have run into some financial trouble, there is always a reason why teams in MLB trade athletes.

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