Injured Jackalope Star Albert Pujols
One of the big stories of the 2011 season has been the rash of injuries to corner infielders, particular for the top contending teams. Perhaps the biggest blow came last week when the Jackalope lost their All-World first baseman Albert Pujols to a fractured forearm. This injury will probably put him on the shelf until sometime in August. In the mean time, the Jackalope’s strong hold on first place will be put to the test.
The Jackalope currently lead the league by a comfortable 13 points. They have perfectly positioned themselves to be able to survive injuries, even this one to their most valuable player. In years past, the Jackalope almost solely relied on Pujols to carry their offense. But that has not been the case this season. They have accumulated a very solid 37 batting points despite Pujols not quite putting up his usual MVP-worthy numbers. Of course, losing him for a couple months weakens their offense, but I believe they are still in great shape.
The off-season focus on rebuilding the offense may really pay off now. With Ryan Howard and Mike Stanton on board, the Jackalope do have some other guys to turn to for some power. Those two players were the direct result of a couple bold trades which sent elite starting pitchers elsewhere. The Jackalope pitching hasn’t missed a beat though as they are currently first or second in every pitching category.
The other thing the Jackalope have going for them is that they aren’t the only contending team fighting significant injury issues. The second place Kings learned yesterday that first baseman Justin Morneau needs neck surgery, and he too will likely be out until August. They also lost a pair of starting pitchers (Tommy Hanson and Clay Buchholz) to the DL last week, although neither are expected to miss much time. The Kings have been the hottest team in the league over the past month, despite a complete lack of production from the usual power position of first base. Morneau and Adam LaRoche were supposed to anchor that position, but both were ineffective and now injured. LaRoche is out for the year and has been released. On the other side of the infield, the Kings have had a pair of third basemen spend significant time on the disabled list. Ryan Zimmerman is back, but David Freese remains out.
Third base has been an especially troubling position for the third place team, the Moonshiners. Almost every week, the Moonshiners have had to call on someone new to fill the hot corner position. Losing David Wright to an injury has been very costly as his replacements have been completely ineffective. Next in line are the Naturals, who are also missing their top third baseman, first round pick Pedro Alvarez. Like the Moonshiners, the Naturals have had a hard time trying to find a worthy player to fill that spot. With all these injuries to corner infielders, there is basically nothing left to choose from in the free agent market.
So while the Pujols injury is very significant, the Jackalope have a great chance of holding their lead since their closest competitors have equal or greater injury problems of their own. I didn’t even get to the teams lower in the standings who have been absolutely decimated by injuries. It has been a war of attrition so far this year, and the Jackalope are winning that battle.