Leyland Tries To Light Fire Under Inge, Raburn

Manager Jim Leyland is quietly doing something in an effort to get two of his regulars hitting again.

Don Kelly was in the lineup for the second straight game, playing third base and batting second, both weak spots for Detroit this season.

Think that message was wasted on Brandon Inge? Doubt it. Inge has not been absent from the starting lineup two straight games, unless injured, for quite some time.

The fact that he is batting only .190 with 23 hits in his last 38 games is operative in this situation, along with a recent stretch in which the Tigers scored only 16 times in eight games.

Also for a second game in a row, rookie Andy Dirks was in the left field spot normally occupied by Ryan Raburn, who also is slumping.

The changes aren't something that people have noticed enough to ask Leyland about, as if he'd say anything anyway.

Dirks was hitting in the low .200s, but Raburn was below even that, plus striking out every second or third at-bat. That whiff rate might work with Miguel Cabrera, but Raburn isn't Cabrera.

Dirks has gotten a couple of big hits lately, not that Raburn hasn't, but being a left-handed hitter works in the rookie's favor when the club is struggling.

He also bunts, goes the other way with outside pitches, plays above-average to exceptional defense, runs the bases well and does a host of other things that have made him the favorite of every manager he has played for as he rose through the farm system.

Kelly has provided Detroit with some hits as the second batter (one rained out) and has played above-average defense. Not as good as Inge, but better than most.

He knows deep down Leyland is using him as a challenge to Inge, but at the same time Kelly knows that if he continues to hit he'll continue to play. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that Inge was a play-all-over guy for the Tigers, so a role swap wouldn't change the way Leyland manages a game.

Inge has more power than Kelly, but if he's hitting .190, that doesn't come into play.

Dirks probably is looking at a trip back to Toledo when Magglio Ordonez is deemed ready to return to the roster, his ankle strong enough for him to push off and generate bat speed again.

After all, Raburn is on the front end of a two-year deal for bigger money than Dirks.

But you never know. It's a production-oriented game and late May, early June is the time of year when teams think about pulling the plug on players who aren't playing up to their history.

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