We're in Week 2 and we have our first major injury.

I think we can all agree that head-first slides should be abolished. As should players injured in such slides throwing their third-base coach under the bus.

Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton fractured his right arm Tuesday while trying to tag up from third base on a short foul ball.

After the game, and the next day, Hamilton said it was a "stupid play" and his third-base coach, Dave Anderson, was "a little too aggressive."

What he didn't say: "I apologize to the idiot News-Herald blogger who ranked me sixth overall heading into the season. The dummy thought I could stay healthy and not slide recklessly."

Moving forward, the pickings on the waiver wire are pretty slim. Here are five outfielders available in between 59 and 97 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com who could prove to be useful during Hamilton's 6-to-8-week absence:

-- 1. Marlon Byrd, Cubs (owned in 41.1 percent of the ESPN leagues): He is batting .353 with 10 runs scored, four RBI and an .848 OPS in 51 at-bats. Prior to going 0-for-5 Wednesday, Byrd had compiled at least two hits in six of his last seven games.

He also has a track record of success. He batted .293 with 12 homers, 66 RBI and 84 runs last season. With Texas in 2009, he hit .283 with 20 homers and 89 RBI. Consider him a mid-level No. 3 outfielder in 12-team mixed leagues.

-- 2. Jonny Gomes, Reds (33 percent): He has three homers, 10 RBI and seven runs in 33 at-bats. In his last five games, he's batting .389 with seven RBI.

His stats last season were respectable (.266, 18 homers, 86 RBI), but look a little deeper and you'll realize Gomes was productive prior to the All-Star break (.277, 11 homers, 60 RBI) and dismal after it (.253, seven homers, 26 RBI). If Gomes' stats are similar this year, you might be able to have one very good outfielder -- Gomes in the first half and Hamilton in the second.

-- 3. Sam Fuld, Rays (34.4 percent): He has seemingly come out of nowhere to hit .313 with five runs and six steals in 32 at-bats prior to Thursday. Because of that, you would think he's a prospect, but Fuld is 29 and has racked up 2,281 at-bats in the minors.

He played with the Cubs in 2007, '09 and '10 (he had a combined 131 at-bats in that span), and he likely won't help you at all in the power department. In the minors, Fuld batted .285 with a .777 OPS, 24 homers, 218 RBI, 106 steals and 404 runs in the 2,281 at-bats. If you need a steals boost, he's a decent option, but don't be surprised if that's the only area in which he gives you significant help.

-- 4. Jeff Francoeur, Royals (8.3 percent): He entered Kansas City's Thursday game batting .292 with eight runs, a homer and eight RBI in 48 at-bats. He had two or more hits in five of his last nine games.

Francoeur seemed to have the makings of a future fantasy stud when he averaged 24 homers and 104 RBI with the Braves in 2006 and '07, but he had norms of 12 homers and 71 RBI in the three years that followed. Like Gomes, he wasn't good after the All-Star break last season (eight homers and 43 RBI before the break; .242 with five homers and 23 RBI after the break). He's a much better fit as a part-time fantasy player than an every-week starter.

-- 5. Michael Brantley, Indians (3.1 percent): Yes, the Indians are off to an encouraging start, and yes, Brantley is batting .311 with six RBI and two steals.

The bad: He's a career .269 hitter who has three homers and 39 RBI in 454 at-bats. He should help you in steals and possibly runs scored, but probably won't be an asset in batting average, homers and RBI. In 2,122 at-bats in the minors, Brantley had a .303 average, 16 homers, 223 RBI, 163 steals and a .765 OPS.

As fantasy owners, we are usually prepared for injuries. We know when players have a history of being brittle, and we know the ones who seem to be breaking down.

Thanks to the Steroids Era, we have something else for which we need to prepare.

Suspensions.

With seemingly every big-name bat sullied in some way, losing Manny Ramirez for 50 games because of the use of a performance-enhancing drug really shouldn't be a surprise. At this point, we're an Albert Pujols or Grady Sizemore positive test away from believing any and everyone is dirty.

Naively, though, we figured drafting Manny meant getting first-round talent in the second round -- a future Hall of Famer who has hit at least 33 homers and driven in 100 runs or more in 10 of the last 11 years. He batted .292 or better in each of the previous 11 seasons.

Now, we're left with ... Juan Pierre?

Ramirez's 50-game suspension takes him out of the picture until July 3 -- near the end of Week 13 of the fantasy season. That leaves Manny owners scrambling for the next eight weeks, or almost twice as many games as A-Rod owners are likely to be without their disgraced star.

One obvious replacement is Pierre, who figures to get regular playing time in the Dodgers' outfield with Ramirez gone.

Pierre is batting .355 this season, but that's in 31 at-bats. He'll help you in stolen bases, batting average and not much else.

He has only 13 homers in 5,184 career at-bats, and he's never driven in more than 55 runs, even though he played the first three seasons of his career in Colorado. He did, however, score 96 runs or more five times in seven seasons from 2001-07, and he entered 2009 with eight consecutive seasons with at least 40 steals.

In deeper leagues, he's a decent No. 3 outfielder who will provide a big boost to your stolen-base totals. Since he has no power, he's not an adequate replacement for Manny unless you have significant home-run and RBI options elsewhere in your lineup.

Let's look at four tiers of possible outfield replacements for Ramirez. The first group consists of players who are owned in 25 to 50 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com, followed by 10 to 25 percent, fewer than 10 percent and players who are outfield-eligible but start at other positions. We've mentioned quite a few of these guys in previous blogs that analyzed the best possible free agents.

25-50 percent

4. Dexter Fowler, Rockies (42.6 percent): He'll help you in steals (nine thus far, although five were in one game), but the rookie is in a 4-for-24 slump and doesn't have a lot of pop.

3. Chris Duncan, Cardinals (48.3): His batting average is mediocre (.275 this season and .248 the year before), but he drives in a lot of runs (19 this year, a combined 97 in 597 at-bats in 2007 and '08) and is capable of hitting 20-plus homers (three this season, a combined 27 the previous two years).

2. Denard Span, Twins (38.1): He hits for average (.305), is fast (seven steals) and isn't bad in the RBI department (14 this season, 47 in 347 at-bats in 2008).

1. Elijah Dukes, Nationals (37.3): He's batting .298, is powerful (four homers this season, 13 in 276 at-bats last year) and fast (13 steals in 2008).

10-25 percent

4. Michael Bourn, Astros (17 percent): Don't put too much stock into his .299 average (he batted .229 last season). Bourn will help you in steals (eight this year, 41 in 2008) and runs scored.

3. Daniel Murphy, Mets (23.3): He batted .313 as a rookie last season and is one point better thus far (.314).

2. Ryan Spilborghs, Rockies (18.5): He's anything but a big name, but his stats are surprisingly solid (.281, three homers, 14 RBI, 16 runs, four steals). In a combined 497 at-bats in 2007 and '08, he batted .306 with 17 homers and 87 RBI.

1. Melky Cabrera, Yankees (20.6): He won his center-field job back, and he's not going anywhere, thanks to a .338 batting average, four homers, 10 RBI, 14 runs and three steals in only 68 at-bats.

Fewer than 10 percent

4. Garret Anderson, Braves (3.2 percent): He's a .296 career hitter who has driven in 75 runs or more in each of the previous 12 years. Anderson returned from a calf injury to drive in three runs on Wednesday.

3. Michael Cuddyer, Twins (2.9): He was very good in 2006 (.284, 24 homers, 109 RBI), decent in 2007 (.276, 16, 81) and has been only OK this season (.263, 2, 14, three steals).

2. Josh Anderson, Tigers (5.4): He doesn't play every day (eight starts in the last 12 games), but with Carlos Guillen on the disabled list, he should get enough at-bats to give you a spark in steals (six this season) and batting average (.333).

1. Marlon Byrd, Rangers (6.3): With a .330 batting average and 16 RBI, he's underrated. In 817 at-bats from 2007 to '08, Byrd hit 20 homers, had 123 RBI, 12 steals, 130 runs scored and batted .302.

Eligibility check

Oakland designated hitter Jack Cust (owned in 24.6 percent of the ESPN.com leagues) can play the outfield in some leagues. Same for Angels first baseman Kendry Morales (16.9), Royals third baseman Mark Teahen (14.1) and Twins DH Jason Kubel (40.9).

All four are adequate power options, especially Kubel (a combined 33 homers and 143 RBI in 881 at-bats in 2007 and '08) and Cust (59 homers in 876 at-bats in that span).