Posted by Lynn Henning on Sun, Mar 9, 2008 at 6:33 PM
Closing in on a deal?

There are scouts paying close attention to the Tigers these days, no question. It is always that way when a player is being offered for trade.

Brandon Inge is that player. It is hard to fathom any scout sitting in the sun at Marchant Stadium Sunday not writing a dandy report on Inge.

He had a double and a vicious line-drive sacrifice fly to left. He had five assists at third base. He made two terrific plays, one on a neat back-hand and long throw behind the bag at third.

In other words, if you need a third baseman -- and the Los Angeles Dodgers do -- then Inge may well be your choice.

I have a gut feeling the Inge deal will get done this week. His market value will likely be no greater during the final week of spring camp than it is now. The Tigers are in a hurry to get this long, lingering issue behind them. It seems likely that something will happen in the next few days.

Inge, of course, wants to sign on with any team that will offer him a regular job at third base. My feeling, very firm, is that he will end up having a plus year for whatever club grabs him.

It's all because he has changed his approach at the plate (he should have made the same alterations last season, especially when coaches were on him to do just that) and is tattooing the ball the way Inge was always capable of doing.

He is a .241 career hitter who likely will never hit for a big average. But there is no reason he can't bat .260-.270 with 20-plus home runs.

When you play third base the way Inge can, that's satisfactory offense, especially for a guy who runs well and does the other things that can help a team win.

I'm as weary of writing about this situation as some people are of reading about it. But that ignores reality. This has been the single biggest unresolved personnel issue in the Tigers' spring camp.

A personal feeling is that the soap opera is about to end. If it doesn't happen this week, I'd be amazed.