Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge has had an ugly go of it this year, with a paltry .565 OPS through nearly 200 trips to the plate. Inge has never been a terrific hitter, but this level of play is still uncharacteristic, and maybe, just maybe, we've now gotten our explanation. Via Jason Beck:
Brandon Inge Has Mono, Lands On DL
#Tigers announce Brandon Inge on 15-day DL with mono. Omir Santos called up from Toledo.
Mononucleosis, of all things. We don’t know how bad Inge has it, or for how long Inge has had it, but intuitively it makes sense that fighting a major illness would pull down a guy’s numbers. The mono could also be unrelated, but I choose to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s just my sunny personality.
Whenever I hear about mono, I think back to Casey Kotchman's 2006. Kotchman contracted mono during the winter, hit an empty .152 for the first month of the year, then went on the DL with the illness and didn't come back that season. He rebounded to have a big 2007, but the mono was by no means a short-term problem, and Inge could be staring at a long time on the sidelines.
Don Kelly has started seven games at third this season, and may be first in line to take Inge's place. Santos is a catcher with a .658 OPS in AAA.
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