You kind of had a feeling that Brandon Inge's first start was going to cause some consternation among the Tigers followers who aren't real big fans of the infielder. Then Sunday's lineup came out [click here to see] and he was listed as DH, making the explosion just that much more emphatic.

Here's a sampling of some of the fan reaction:

As expected, Brandon Inge was activated Friday off the 15-day disabled list after his rehabilitation stint at Triple-A Toledo. And, as expected, there was a very large, very vocal group of fans who were not happy.

Here's a sampling of the reaction (at least the printable, PG-rated ones) from social media:

The last thing any manager or executive wants is to have someone injure themselves in the last week of camp. No one wants injuries at any time, but if they come early, there's at least time to deal with them.

So that's why the Tigers' brain trust of manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski had to be swallowing hard when they saw back-up catcher Gerald Laird go down in a heap in the second inning of Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles. Laird had been tracking a foul fly off the bat of Jai Miller when third baseman Don Kelly ran into his left knee. By all reports, Laird went down in pain, clutching the knee, and had to be helped off the field by head trainer Kevin Rand and minor league infielder Brandon Douglas.

There was a sigh of relief when it turned out to be less serious that it could have been.

The Tigers announced that it was a left knee sprain, that Laird's status was day-to-day, and that he'd be re-evaluated on Saturday.

Laird told the Detroit News' Tom Gage that he'll miss "only a couple of days. Glad I didn't blow it out."

Why all the angst over a journeyman catcher, a career .241 hitter?

Well, having seen the cost of not having a reliable back-up catcher on the roster — especially when the injury to Victor Martinez’s knee forced starter Alex Avila to be in the lineup for 18 straight games at one point last season — the Tigers brought Laird back on a one-year deal to take up the slack. Initially, it was to keep Martinez from having to do double duty. The signing became doubly important when Martinez tore up his knee in January, shelving him for the season.

Laird certainly won’t make anyone forget V-Mart’s offensive contributions when he’s in the lineup, but he’ll certainly help keep Avila fresh for the playoffs, which may be just as important. Avila was worn to a nub by playoff time, suffering from tendinitis in both knees, and hitting .073 in the postseason as a result.

Laird's absence on a short-term basis is probably not all that problematic. Last year's third-string catcher, Omir Santos, who split time between the big league team and Triple-A Toledo, and was sent to the minor league camp Friday morning, could be called back. He'd have to be added to the 40-man roster to do so, but the Tigers could easily open a slot by placing Al Alburquerque (elbow surgery) on the 60-day disabled list, among a handful of possible moves.

The problem is that Santos would not be a long-term solution, should Laird have to miss significant time. As it stands now, the Tigers have at least two 'emergency' catchers on the roster — Kelly and Brandon Inge — but neither would be considered anything more than a band-aid for a game, or at the extreme outside, two. Inge has had multiple knee surgeries since his own days behind the plate, eliminating him from realistic consideration for the role.

Having said that, you have to wonder where the Tigers might turn, if Laird were to get hurt (or if Friday's injury turned out to be serious)? Santos, who was re-signed as an insurance policy? One of the minor-league catchers, like recent draft picks Bryan Holaday, Curt Casali Rob Brantly or James McCann? Someone outside the organization?

That's a more interesting question.

You had to know that Brandon Inge was going to try to get on the field somehow.

With the addition of Prince Fielder necessitating the move of Miguel Cabrera to his "natural" position of third base, that meant that Brandon Inge was out of a role, albeit not out of a job. Still under contract for 2012 at a cost of $5.5 million — awfully expensive for a utility infielder — the Tigers would love to make use of their longest-tenured player, rather than just let him languish on the bench.

Leyland: Inge has asked for chance to compete for 2nd base job. He'll get his shot. More to come on the site.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) February 16, 2012

So it was no surprise that reports out of Lakeland, Fla. (first mentioned by MLB.com's Jason Beck) were that Inge had asked permission to enter the competition for the one and only starting spot still up for grabs — second base. Tom Gage of the Detroit News reported that Inge first made the request with a call to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who then called manager Jim Leyland.

"don't know how he will handle the pivot, plus he has to hit" - #Tigers Leyland about Inge

— Tom Gage (@Tom_Gage) February 16, 2012

Both gave a thumbs-up.

That move doesn't really answer any questions, and merely brings up some more, but it does give him a chance to compete, at the very least.

That's something that both Dombrowski and Leyland said that Inge would both need AND want to do in spring training.

"I did not speak to Brandon or his representatives, but I can understand he would not be thrilled. But I also think at this point, probably the best thing for him to do at this point — he’s not coming off a big-number year, and the market has been pretty well set — probably the best thing is let him come to spring training and let him play well, and let’s see what happens from there," Dombrowski said at the Fielder press conference, when asked if Inge had requested a trade. "I still think he can play a very important part of our club. And I’ll tell you what, we’re trying to win."

And while Leyland knew Inge wasn't happy, he also knew he'd be willing to fight. After all, it was Inge himself who said during the Winter Caravan this would be a season where there'd be "No more Mr. Nice Guy," when it came to playing time.

"I really believe Brandon Inge can be a big part of this team, if he wants to be. He’s a trooper, he’s a Tiger. He’s done everything we’ve asked. I don’t control situations like that. The owner of this ballclub wanted to sign Prince Fielder, and he did. And that makes the manager move some pieces around. That’s my responsibility. It just so happened that Brandon was involved in some of that movement, as we speak today," Leyland said at the Fielder press conference.
"I don’t want to slight Brandon Inge’s contributions, and hopefully his future contributions, to this organization.
I talked to him (the day before the press conference), I did the best I could to explain it to him. I apologized to him for not getting it to him before the news broke. ...
"He’s not very happy, because he wants to play, and I wouldn’t give you a nickel for him, if he didn’t want to play.
"I love Brandon Inge."

The worst-kept secret in the world, after the two sides agreed on terms this week, was that the acquisition of Prince Fielder was likely going to mean a change in position for the Tigers' resident first baseman, Miguel Cabrera.
Manager Jim Leyland confirmed in Thursday's introductory press conference that he was indeed planning on moving Cabrera back to what the player called his "natural position," putting him at third base. The trickle-down effect meant that longtime Tiger Brandon Inge would also be impacted by the acquisition.
In this video clip, Leyland talks about how the move will play out for the two players:

The only true Tigers news to come out during the Winter Meetings so far is a bit of bad news: WXYZ reported Tuesday afternoon that third baseman Brandon Inge had been involved in a six-car accident earlier that morning near Ann Arbor.
According to the report, police said they did not issue any citations, and reported no major injuries.

In a turn of events that surprised absolutely no one in the world, Brandon Inge cleared waivers allowing the Tigers to outright his contract to Toledo.

This was just the cleaning up of the procedural leftovers from last Wednesday's decision to designate Inge for assignment. Inge, who has the ability to veto such a move as a 10-and-5 player (a 10-year veteran who's spent five years with their current team), has said that he'd accept the assignment.

"Everyone goes through rough patches and I just need to go down and work on something. I’m not holding anyone responsible. It’s me. I’m in the batter’s box. I play 100 percent every day, and it just wasn’t working out right there," said the veteran third baseman, who was hitting just .177 with one home run, necessitating the team trading for the Royals' Wilson Betemit. "I haven’t been playing well, and there comes a time when you need to fix it.
"I’m actually in a good place with it. I want to go down there and work on it."

Even though the Tigers knew that the move could easily have resulted in the end of Inge's career with the organization, they're not counting him out, either.

"Can he get his swing back, and make things happen? Hopefully. Right now, when we look at it from our own situation, trying to win, it just hasn’t happened for him, really," Dombrowski said.
"He’s still fine at third base, and I think if he’s hitting like he’s capable of hitting, I think he’s plenty fine at third base. But I would think — he’s only human if it’s not affecting him at some point. I mean, he’s been scuffling. He tries his hardest, he gives you everything he can — he always has done that — and I’m sure it affects him.
"But unfortunately, that ... is part of being a big-league player, when you scuffle like that. Hey, when you’re a general manager, and you make a bad trade, people boo you and throw (barbs) at you. ... It’s the same thing: We’re in a production-oriented business."

Inge promised he'd be back when the rosters expand in September, but until then, he'll be a high-priced insurance policy, should Betemit or one of the reserve infielders get injured. His price tag, which includes the remainder of his $5.5 million salary from this year, as well as the rest of the two-year, $11 million contract he signed in the offseason.

That's likely a good part of the reason no team put in a waiver claim. There were some rumors that the Florida Marlins would put a claim in, hoping to land a calming influence for their young squad, but the team said recently it did not know where that rumor had started.

The Tigers made a move after Wednesday’s series finale in Los Angeles, recalling former No. 1 pick Ryan Perry from Triple-A Toledo, where he’d been working out some kinks.

Perry was 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched in Toledo, after being shipped down after his big-league ERA went whizzing into triple digits (12.19).

To make room for Perry on the active roster, the Tigers sent Adam Wilk down to Toledo, in part clearing up a bit of the logjam of lefty relievers that had manager Jim Leyland shaking his head over the past few weeks.

Leyland had said repeatedly that carrying four left-handers in the bullpen was too many, and this move leaves only David Purcey, Charlie Furbush and Daniel Schlereth to divvy up the lefty innings for now.

One of those guys may be the odd man out when — or if — the Tigers decide to recall left-handed Brad Thomas (elbow inflammation) from his injury rehab stint with the Mud Hens.

The team will also have to decide who will be sent out to make room for third baseman Brandon Inge, who’s due to finish up his rehab stint in Toledo, and rejoin the parent club when it returns from the West Coast to open a 10-game homestand.

Inge and Perry both appeared in Wednesday night’s Mud Hens game against Columbus. Perry went one-third of an inning, giving up a run on two hits, earning a blown save. Inge was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two walks, raising his average to .250 on the rehab stint.

The Tigers didn’t think that Brandon Inge’s struggles at the plate were related to his surgically repaired knees.

But they may have been health-related, anyway.

The longest-tenured Tiger, who just turned 34 on May 19, and had his career turn 10 on Wednesday, was put on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis on Friday.

The move was retroactive to Thursday.

Inge had played in 52 of 55 games for the Tigers, but was never able to break out of the slump began the season in, hitting just .211 on the season. He had just one home run and 12 RBI, and had more strikeouts (44) than hits (34).

Catcher Omir Santos was recalled from Triple-A Toledo Friday to replace Inge on the active roster. He will likely only be on the roster until Magglio Ordonez (ankle weakness) is done with his rehab stint at Toledo, which was scheduled to start Friday and last through the weekend.

It wasn’t necessary for the Tigers to recall a defensive replacement for Inge, since Danny Worth, Ramon Santiago, Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn can all play third, if needed.

The move comes just two days after Inge earned his “10-and-5” rights, an occasion acknowledged by visiting Twins manager Ron Gardenhire — who was Minnesota’s third-base coach for Inge’s first game as a Tiger in 2001 — with a bottle of champagne and a note. By Major League Baseball rules, a player who has 10 years of service time and five of those with his current team, cannot be traded without his consent.