AJ Burnett is back and he's dealing.

Unless you are a fantasy baseball genius like me (or rather like the one I am in my own mind) injuries and their ramifications can kill any hopes of a fantasy baseball championship. It’s bad enough when you lose Chase Utley for six to eight weeks but when your inspired pick-up of Manny Corpus is threatened by the return of Brian Fuentes to your rival’s roster those two points you were hunting in saves could seem disastrously elusive. However, you, the Sports Grumblings reader, have the extreme good fortune to have found the latest edition of In Focus. Surely with my advice in hand you can not lose! No thanks are necessary for as Eek the Cat used to say “it never hurts to help.”

If your number one catcher is Paul Lo Duca or Michael Barrett you have no doubt noticed the lack of quality replacements especially in NL-only leagues. In my 20–team mixed league I felt the loss of Paul Lo Duca quite clearly but never more so than when my power hitting replacement (and regular Lo Duca back-up) Ramon Castro also landed on the disabled list. The Mets have turned to Mike DiFelice who is far from inspiring as a fantasy catcher. Even more unlikely to help is Sandy Alomar Jr. who the Mets have recalled to split time with DiFelice. In deeper mixed leagues like mine you might consider J.R. House of the Baltimore Orioles. House was a top prospect of the Pirates not so long ago. Injuries and untimely slumps robbed him of various opportunities to become a major league regular in the past but he is healthy now and as productive as ever. His career minor league line is .311/.373/.497 including .295/.362/.451 with 10 home runs in 417 Triple-A at-bats this season with Norfolk. House’s only competition for at-bats at the moment is Paul Bako, nuff said.

I will never understand why the Boston Red Sox made the traitorous trade they did for Wily Mo Pena. But no matter, after wasting two years sitting on Boston’s bench, the power-hitting Pena has joined the Nationals where general manager Jim Bowden is assembling the team he meant to build in Cincy. If the return of Wily Tavarez to the disabled list has you down in the dumps then Wily Mo Pena could be just the lift you need (just don’t get any dump juice on me, dude) for both your spirits and your team’s production. Pena’s stats in Boston obviously were not impressive but as Pena himself is fond of saying “I can't tell you I'm going to do this, this, this and this. That's not me. When I play, I will put up some numbers. If I don't play, I can't put up some numbers." Pena is expected to play just about every day and I expect him to put on a power display the rest of the way. My crystal ball sees 10-12 homers the rest of the way with a decent average to boot. I can hear you whining already, wondering if Pena is going to steal bases. No, he will not, but that is why I told you to pick up Rajai Davis last week. You were listening, weren’t you?

Should you miss out on Pena or maybe even if you don’t, Ryan Spilborghs is the man you want. Spilborghs was already having a great season as a bench player but now he’ll play almost every day in place of Tavarez. No, he won’t steal bases like Tavarez but unlike Pena he will steal a few. He should also give your team a considerable power boost if he is actually replacing Tavarez in your roster. In 163 at-bats this season Spill, I call him Spill, has batted .325/.380/.571 with 10 home runs, 43 RBI and four stolen bases. Spill could match those numbers the rest of the way.

Also in Colorado, as alluded to above, Brian Fuentes has returned from the disabled list to reclaim part of the closer’s job of the Rockies. According to Rockies’ management Fuentes and Manny Corpus will be sharing the role for now. I wouldn’t mind adding either one were I in need of saves but expect Corpus to get the bulk of the chances for now. Fuentes had lost the role at least temporarily before he went on the disabled list. He has a little something to prove before he snatches that job back.

Very quietly this time, A.J. Burnett has returned from the disabled list. Or maybe we were too distracted by all the noise the New York Yankees have made in the American League East of late. In the first two starts of his return Burnett is 2-0, with a 1.98 earned run average, 11 strikeouts and six walks (oops) in 13.2 innings pitched. This is pretty much vintage A.J. so if you’ve been hesitant to pick him up or activate him you shouldn’t be.

Josh Hamilton has also returned from the disabled list. Although Rick Ankiel has stolen some of his “great story” headlines Hamilton has not missed a beat. In six games and 20 at-bats since his return Hamilton is batting .350/.409/.650. He is isn’t putting on the sexy home run display that Ankiel is these days but he is just as capable and should do it with a far superior batting average.

Jon sincerely hopes you win your fantasy league thanks to his advice unless you’re in one of his. If you are you can rag on him about it by e-mailing him at JonWilliams@SportsGrumblings.com