Josh hits the DL; Hanely, Aramis avoid it

This is the fantasy equivalent of The Perfect Storm.

You have Josh Hamilton, Aramis Ramirez and Hanley Ramirez on your team and they're all not playing. The infamous day-to-day, which is a fantasy player's worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, your team is plummeting in the standings worse than newspaper stock. All you can do is click on the little red update box and day after day after lousy day, you see they are not in the lineup.

Maybe this weekend. Maybe Monday. Possibly next week.

But the kicker: (Insert name here) will appear to avoid the DL.

Personally, I'd much rather one of my stud hitters hit the disabled list if they are going to miss more than one or two days. Otherwise, they hold you hostage if you are in a league without a bench spot.

Currently, I'm a Josh and Aramis owner in a no-bench league. My power is being zapped. Even if I could put a warm body in for these two, I could make a little dent on the sagging power numbers.

Your only viable option is to trade at a discount. But I say don't do it.

Unless you can get fair value for your stud hitter, try to hold on. As the PGA campaign used to preach "These Guys are Good." And a panic trade in April can cost you a chance at any success.

Josh Hamilton (updated): Breaking news out of Arlington, where the Rangers have finally put Hamilton on the DL. Hamilton's rib injury was the most serious of the three as Hamilton injured it running the bases on Sunday. But the day after, he was lobbying to manager Ron Washington for 20 minutes before the game to play. Two days later, he told trainers he was in "extreme pain." Now, he's feeling better, but said he's still not ready to play and today, Texas decided to pull the trigger, which should give fantasy owners closure.

Aramis Ramirez: If you've had Aramis on your team, it's no surprise he's dinged up. Seems like 3-4 times a year, he's dealing with something. Usually it's the back or the quad. But the calf thing seems to be a little more serious than originally thought. An MRI yesterday showed no tear (just a strain), but the Cubs had Iowa's Bobby Scales at the ballpark, ready to call up, pending the MRI results, it was that close. The team is hopeful Ramirez can suit up this weekend, but based on verbage I'm reading, my money is on a Monday return.

Hanley Ramirez: Suffering from a bruised right wrist. Obviously, the Fish are being cautious. Hanley wants to play bad. That's a good sign from a guy who has been dogging it a bit on deep fly balls lately. He was 80/20 to play on Thursday and now, he's out of the lineup again today. Get him back in the lineup tomorrow in daily moves. I'm almost certain he'll be back.