Exhaling

The Tigers just about ended the White Sox season last night, thanks to Brandon Inge and his great defense at third, not to mention hitting.

Inge makes a number of errors at the hot corner, but nobody -- nobody -- makes more spectacular plays there, either. He's made 20 errors, which is second worse in the AL to A-Rod's 23. However, his range factor is 3.39, which is the best in the AL among regulars. The range factor is putouts + assists x 9 divided by innings played.

He's picked it up with the bat, too. He's batting .298-4-14 in September. He's hitting .297-8-31 since the All-Star break and has a .359 on-base average and .833 OPS during that time. Those numbers are somewhat deceptive because he went .250-1-4 in August, so it's not like he's been swinging at a steady clip. But like his defense, Inge is streaky with the stick -- but the hot streaks are great. He's got 78 total RBI, not bad for the No. 9 spot.

Detroit proved it could play with a team like the White Sox. After going 1-5 against them to open the year, they finished by winning 6 of the last 13 games. They were 2-1-1 in series during that span (Chicago had a three-game sweep in August).

The Tigers don't have any player with 30 HR, but they have four with at least 20. Only the White Sox and Yankees have that many players with at least 20 HR in the AL. If Carlos Guillen can smack one more, Detroit will take the lead with five.

Happy to see Bonderman put in a solid effort last night, too. He struggled, particularly early, but never collapsed. That's the key.