In Detroit, they love Brandon Inge. Or they hate him.

They feel for him. Or they want him gone, immediately.

It seems ridiculous that with a team this good, there's still so much focus on a player who is seemingly this unimportant.

But there is, and now it will go on.

After trying hard but unsuccessfully to trade Inge (and after considering the possibility of releasing him), the Tigers put Inge on the disabled list Tuesday morning with a left groin strain. He'll be eligible to come off the DL as soon as April 14, which means that the Inge debate among Tiger fans can continue soon -- or never stop.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland told reporters (including Jason Beck of MLB.com) that he expects Inge to play second base against left-handed pitchers once he is healthy. Inge hit .245 with a .717 OPS against lefties last year, as opposed to .170 with a .449 OPS against right-handers.

Overall, his .548 OPS in 2011 was the lowest by a Tiger with at least 300 plate appearances in more than 30 years (since Tom Veryzer's .485 in 1977).

Inge followed that up with a spring in which he hit .180 with a .526 OPS, and drove in just two runs in 50 at-bats.

When I saw the Tigers last week, Inge proudly told me that he had spent the winter working on MMA, and that he felt stronger than ever. But the strength didn't show up at the plate, and the guy with two 27-homer seasons looked more like the guy who hit just three home runs in 303 plate appearances in 2011.

Tiger fans are so split on him that when Inge asked for a chance to play second base (and the Tigers agreed), the Detroit Free Press ran a poll asking whether fans wanted to see Inge succeed there. And many said they didn't.

The Tigers tried hard to interest the Phillies in Inge as a possible Chase Utley replacement, but the Phillies wouldn't go for it. No other team showed interest in Inge, either.

Inge was the Tigers' third baseman last year, but he lost that job when the Prince Fielder signing pushed Miguel Cabrera across the diamond.

Inge has been a Tiger since 2001. Over the last 30 years, only Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell have played more games for the team than Inge, who has played in 1,399.