A Most Painful Oblique Injury

And baseball highlights on SportsCenter just got a lot less interesting. Albert Pujols, as it turns out, really is human. He's got a right oblique strain, and he'll be on the shelf for a while. At least two weeks. Perhaps up to six. Perhaps even longer. If Deadspin.com goes dark tomorrow, it's because Will is hanging by his neck in his closet.

The strained oblique is an odd little injury. Pujols suffered his while making a move towards an Aramis Ramirez foul ball. It comes out of nowhere, and doesn't seem like it's that serious. But it's not the kind of thing you'd want to rush back from, because if it gets re-injured, then you're missing some serious time. It has to be allowed to heal completely. Albert Pujols will be seeing a lot of rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories.

Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos is all over the injury, what it means to the Cards, and their options from here. It's pretty impressive blogging under difficult circumstances. My hat is off to them.

But it's not just a blow to Cardinals fans. It hurts all baseball fans, because of the ridiculous pace that Pujols was on, and the chance he had to make a run at a historic season. We're all missing out. But hey, the good news is that with Pujols out of the way, at least Barry Bonds can get some media coverage now.

Strained Oblique Grief Counseling and Game 56 Open Thread [Viva El Birdos] Strained oblique muscle could sideline Pujols for two weeks or more [MercuryNews.com]