When asked to name the Major League Baseball player who most resembles Allen Iverson, Detroit Tiger and fellow Lynchburg, Va. alumni Brandon Inge wouldn't be at the top of the list. But here we are in September and those forearm tattoos he got back in August still haven't worn off. If the Tiger manage to make the playoffs, he should compete in a retro headband and a big arm-sized glove that makes him look like Sally Jupiter.
As the race for the AL Central heads into the home stretch, it is important to analyze these tattoos and see how they match up with the rest of the division. Tonight's Dugout is after the jump.
Brandon Inge looked quite different Monday night as the Tigers opened a three-game series with the Angels. The All-Star third baseman had the underside of both his forearms tattooed with the names of his young sons.
According to the MLive.com report, Inge decided to get inked while the Tigers stayed in San Francisco over the weekend to play the Oakland A's.
He now has a "Chase" tat on his left arm and "Tyler" on his right arm.
OAKLAND -- Infielders and former infielders around the majors have long admired Adrian Beltre for his Gold Glove play at third base.
Now, many of them are looking at Beltre with a different kind of disbelief.
"I can't believe a guy is playing third base without a cup," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a former All-Star shortstop. "That's ballsy. That's a dangerous place, especially third base."
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Nationals of all teams are the hottest club in baseball. They've won five straight games, scoring no fewer than five runs in each of their six games in August. Mike MacDougal recorded saves in four of those five wins, but the real hero in Washington is Ryan Zimmerman.
Generally when you get to this point in the baseball season as a player, whether you're on a disabled list or not, you aren't completely healthy. You may not have a broken bone, but odds are when you wake up in the morning your body feels like you just fell out of a fifth story window. It's just something that can be avoided over the course of a 162-game schedule.
So it's safe to assume that there are no everyday players in the league right now who aren't dealing with some kind of ache or pain, but most of them probably aren't playing through what Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge is going through. He has pain in both of his knees, including a 75 percent tear of the middle portion of the patella tendon in his left knee. That's not going to keep him off the field, at least, not if he can help it.
The State Farm Home Run Derby is tonight, and hometown favorite Albert Pujols looks to be the front runner for longball glory. But don't forget about dark horse candidates like Detroit Tigers slugger Brandon Inge, who has hit 21 dingers already this season and has played every position including "coach." Personally, I think Inge could sneak in and ... wait, the Home Run Derby happened last night? What happened, who won? Did... oh.
This afternoon's Dugout is after the jump. Ughhh, look at that guy.
ST. LOUIS -- After Brandon Inge had taken five or six swings in Monday's Home Run Derby, his son Tyler turned to Curtis Granderson on the sideline and said, "Daddy's not hitting any home runs."
Getting shut out -- that's right, 10 outs and no home runs, did not at all dampen Inge's night.
Inge hit 13 fewer homers than Albert Pujols. And smiled about 100 times more often.
"My number was actually 15," he said, meaning what he expected would be needed in the first round to advance.
The Midsummer Classic is just a day away, which meant only one thing. It was time time for baseball's annual all-or-nothing display of power -- the 2009 Home Run Derby -- an event that can often provide the most memorable moment of the All-Star Game festivities.
If one theme has emerged during the first half of the 2009 season in the National League, it's that it's Albert Pujols' world and we're all just living in it. After nine superb seasons in which he's only finished out of the top four in MVP voting once, he's somehow on pace for his best season yet.
With this year's Home Run Derby in St. Louis and Pujols making a point to perform in front of the home crowd, it's essentially him against the field Monday night. Do Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Pena, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Joe Mauer, Nelson Cruz, or Brandon Inge stand any sort of chance of spoiling Pujols' parade?
When asked to name the Major League Baseball player who most resembles Allen Iverson, Detroit Tiger and fellow Lynchburg, Va. alumni Brandon Inge wouldn't be at the top of the list. But here we are in September and those forearm tattoos he got back in August still haven't worn off. If the Tiger manage to make the playoffs, he should compete in a retro headband and a big arm-sized glove that makes him look like Sally Jupiter. 
OAKLAND -- Infielders and former infielders around the majors have long admired 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Generally when you get to this point in the baseball season as a player, whether you're on a disabled list or not, you aren't completely healthy. You may not have a broken bone, but odds are when you wake up in the morning your body feels like you just fell out of a fifth story window. It's just something that can be avoided over the course of a 162-game schedule.
The State Farm Home Run Derby is tonight, and hometown favorite 
ST. LOUIS -- After 
The Midsummer Classic is just a day away, which meant only one thing. It was time time for baseball's annual all-or-nothing display of power -- the 2009 
If one theme has emerged during the first half of the 2009 season in the National League, it's that it's 
