Inge nears full recovery after surgery

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge thought that shortly after undergoing surgery in November to repair the tendons in both knees he'd be well enough to fly to his offseason home in South Carolina.

No chance.

"Two days (after the procedure), I couldn't bend my legs," Inge said Saturday. "I thought, 'Well, I'll just put that off."'

Nearly four months later, the 2009 All-Star pick appears well on his way to making a full recovery in time for the Tigers' April 5 season opener at Kansas City.

"He's doing fine," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "He's ahead of schedule, by his own admission. Exactly how far ahead of schedule I don't know."

The 32-year-old Inge, who set a career high with 84 RBIs last season and tied his career best with 27 homers, has participated in spring workouts with the team, but won't begin playing until the latter part of spring training.

However, "I could play right now," Inge said.

A year ago, Inge had his best start in the majors, hitting .275 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs through June. He credited that success to a revamped swing that allowed him to stay on the ball better, use all fields and, at long last, stop getting "wrapped up" on inside pitches.

"The swing changes really allowed me to take it to the next level," Inge said. "It freed me up to be able to hit everything."

Even during his start, though, Inge's knees didn't feel great.

"Last year in spring training I started to feel it," Inge said. "It wasn't bad, but it was worse than it had been in the past. I would feel it every now and then, but then it progressively got worse."

By the season's second half, Inge, who had patella tendinitis in both knees, was playing in pain every day.

It showed in his numbers.

After July 1, Inge batted .189 and struck out 99 times.

"When I'd bend my leg to drive the ball it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife," Inge said.

Inge, however, kept on playing (he saw action in 161 games), and contributing to a team that came within a win of reaching the playoffs.

"A lot of guys wouldn't have been playing," Leyland said. "I felt kind of bad about it, but he's bullheaded. He wanted to be out there."

On Nov. 4, Inge had surgery in Michigan.

The tendon in his left knee was "shredded," he said. His right knee had a bone chip.

"The (doctor) said if he didn't know who it was, he would have assumed the guy would have been crippled," Inge said.

After surgery, Inge wore braces on both legs that stretched from his ankles to his thighs for six weeks. When removed, he barely recognized his legs.

Saturday, Inge said he wasn't quite back to 100 percent, but was progressing each day and getting close. He not only is anxious to start playing again, but to return to the form he displayed before the All-Star break in 2009.

Asked if duplicating those numbers were possible, Inge didn't hesitate.

"Without a doubt," he said.

NOTES: Closer Jose Valverde flew to the Dominican Republic and missed Saturday's workouts because of a death in the family. Leyland said he would be out a "couple days." Thus far, the manager likes what he sees from Valverde, whom the team signed to a two-year, $14 million deal in January. "He's a big, strong, outstanding-stuff guy with a lot of personality," Leyland said. "He's got a great arm." ... With a competition brewing for the final two spots in the starting rotation, former Detroit starters Jeremy Bonderman, Armando Galarraga, Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are among those in the mix. "I don't know how that's going to play out," Leyland said. He added that "filling out the rotation" is the No. 1 thing on his mind.