Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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The biggest news coming out of Tuesday was an injury to slugger Albert Pujols.  There were worries in the preseason that an ulnar collateral tear would hinder Pujols this season and he fell out of the top-10 in many fantasy drafts.  He has made those owners who passed on him pay by being the same great hitter he always has been battling Manny Ramirez for the title of best right-handed hitter alive.  Before Tuesday Pujols was hitting .346/.474/.621 with 15 home runs, 40 RBI, and 40 runs, a terrific line even for him.

He is now likely headed to the disabled list.  He aggravated his left calf muscle in the seventh inning of a 7-2 win over the Reds.  Pujols hit a grounder to first and took one step out of the batter’s box before falling to the ground.  He had to be helped off the field by teammates.  Joe Mather replaced him at first, and will likely see plenty of time there in the next few weeks.  It will be impossible for the Cardinals to replace him, and it will be hard for fantasy teams to recover from the big slugger’s absence as well.  Mather is hitting just over the Mendoza line so he isn’t a viable option in all but the deepest NL-only leagues.  The Cardinals could possibly move Troy Glaus to cover at first and use either Aaron Miles and/or Brendan Ryan at third.

The options at first are probably slim in most leagues at this point.  Here are a few names that could contribute and won’t kill your team while Pujols recovers:

Jorge Cantu - Has hit .302 over the last month with 6 home runs.  Best of all, he’s likely available.

Ryan Garko - He started the season in a terrible slump, and temporarily lost his job to Michael Aubrey.  Garko has recovered and is now hitting .300 over the past month with 21 RBI

Eric Hinske – Likely long gone in most leagues, but could probably had very cheaply as most owners don’t believe.  He does have 11 home runs, and 5 steals already, and is playing nearly everyday for the Rays.

• Hideki Okajima blew his sixth save of the season and was tagged with his second loss as well.  His ERA has jumped to 2.89 as he gave up 3 runs while getting just one out against the Orioles.  He blew the game for Josh Beckett who went six strong innings.  If you’re using Okajima for K’s and good ratios it is probably time to start looking elsewhere.

• Daniel Cabrera has morphed back into Daniel Cabrera but with half the strikeouts.  That leaves him with almost no fantasy value unless he can find the control he had earlier in the season.

• In good news for owners Chien-Ming Wang rediscovered his touch and dominated the A’s throwing 7.1 innings of 1-run ball.  The best sign was how he went about his work: 15 groundouts and just 5 flyballs.  His sinker was clearly working.

• Matt Holliday returned for the Rockies and went 0-3 with a run and a strikeout.  He might be starting his final few weeks in Colorado as the trade rumors continue to swirl around him.

• Tampa starter James Shields started his game against the Angels as shaky as can be giving up four earned in the first inning.  To say he settled down would be an understatement but the damage was already done.  The Rays ended up losing 6-1, but Shields ended up going the full 8 innings allowing just 2 runs after the first with 9 strikeouts.  He will now drop his appeal from the Coco Crisp brawl and will miss his next start. 

• Tuesday was day 2 of the great catching experiment in Detroit.  Brandon Inge and Ivan Rodriguez will alternate days behind the dish with the purpose of keeping Rodriguez fresh and getting Inge into the lineup more often.  Rodriguez played on Tuesday so those in daily leagues adjust your lineups accordingly.

• The Mets got back Moises Alou and Marlon Anderson, but lost Ryan Church to the DL.  Either way this probably means less of Fernando Tatis who was a serviceable replacement.  New York lost 9-5 to the Diamondbacks as the Arizona bullpen was dominant.  Five D-Back relievers combined to throw 4.2 innings and allowed 0 runs and just 2 hits to hold what had been a 0-5 deficit.  

• Dodger wunderkind Clayton Kershaw is still searching for his first big-league win.  He was once again a mixed bag of good and bad in his fourth start.  He threw 5.1 innings and struck out 5 but 4 walks proved to be his downfall.  In 20 innings so far in the majors Kershaw has 19 strikeouts, but has walked 13.  Once he harnesses his control however all bets are off.  Los Angeles won for the third time in its last four games 7-2 over San Diego. 

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