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As far as we can tell, no team's superstar has gotten hurt in the last 30 seconds. But never fear. That'll probably change by the time you hit the pillow tonight.

The heck with Grady Sizemore's iron-man streak. The 30 people in baseball we know can't possibly take a day off this season are the trainers.

More than 100 players are already on the disabled list. So we decided to contemplate this question: Which early injuries have had the biggest impact on this season so far?

(Before we launch into this list, just be aware that those with long-term afflictions -- Tommy John rehabbers, sufferers of Rocco Baldelli-itis et al -- were deemed ineligible. Only cases that have occurred, or at least worsened dramatically, since spring training qualify.)

So here it comes -- Five Early Injuries That Have Left Their Mark:

1. J.J. Putz, Mariners (costochondritis)

Nope, costochondritis is not some fancy Latin word for how a team with a $117 million payroll feels after it gets swept by the Orioles. It's actually the term for what happened to the Mariners' untouchable closer, who, essentially, has a cartilage infection in his rib cage and is out indefinitely.

But let's just say those developments in Baltimore and the developments in Putz's rib cage were heavily related.

How good is J.J. Putz? Heck, Matt Morris gave up more hits in spring training this year (45 in 24 innings) than Putz allowed all last season (37 in 71 2/3 IP). In fact, Putz allowed the lowest opponent batting average (.153) of any 40-save man in American League history last year. So he's as irreplaceable as any pitcher in baseball -- especially in a bullpen in which no one else had a single career big league save until Tuesday.

Thanks to him, the Mariners went 75-0 last season when they led after eight innings. Now they've already lost two games in the ninth this year, coughed up another one in the eighth and have seen their whole promising season turn upside down.

"When those bullpen gates open and out comes J.J. Putz, the game's been pretty much over for the last year and a half," said one scout. "So where do you turn when you don't have anybody else who has been battle-tested to any degree?"

2. Curtis Granderson, Tigers (fractured finger)

Over the long haul, it figures to be the Tigers' bullpen injury list (Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney) that will hang over their season. But this is about right now. And the reason you can connect the dots between Granderson's absence and the Tigers' disastrous start is that, inexplicably, this team can't score.

The Tigers scored 14 runs in their last exhibition game in Florida. Then the real season started, and they scored 15 in their first seven losses combined. Nobody knows what their numbers might look like if Granderson were around. But if you don't think he'd make a major difference, consider this:

Granderson 2007: 84 extra-base hits, 35 steals, .913 OPS, 122 runs scored
Tigers leadoff men 2008: 0 extra-base hits, 1 steal, .688 OPS, 1 run scored

"He sets their table," said one scout. "They opened the season with six home games. And in that ballpark, his speed at the top of the order is an element they really miss. With what he brings offensively, and defensively in center field, that's a huge loss."

3. John Lackey/Kelvim Escobar, Angels (elbow/shoulder)

Ask yourself this: How often do you ever see one team lose a 19-game winner and an 18-game winner at the same time?

Correct answer: How about never?

We know because we asked the Elias Sports Bureau to help us find the last time a team played its first 30 games of a season (or more) without two pitchers who had won at least 18 games apiece the year before. (Just to make sure this was a parallel situation, we eliminated all cases where those pitchers changed teams the next season.)

And the answer was: This hasn't happened to any team since 1900. Not one.

So as capable as Joe Saunders may be of filling one of those slots, and as valuable as Dustin Moseley has been as a swing man for this team, here's how tough it is to replace a No. 1 and No. 2 starter this good: Last year, the Angels played .714 baseball (45-18) when Lackey and Escobar started -- and sub-.500 baseball (49-50, .495) when anybody else started.

"I think Joe Saunders is ready to step in and take a spot," said one scout. "And I like Dustin Moseley. But I like him a lot better if he makes 10-12 starts and pitches in multiple roles. Put him in the rotation full time, and he might get overexposed. So I think they can survive this if they get Lackey back in a reasonable period of time. But these are the kind of injuries that can be the difference between finishing first and finishing second."

4. Scott Kazmir/Matt Garza, Rays (elbow/nerve irritation)

Kazmir would have made this list all by himself. But add in Garza, who left Tuesday's start complaining of numbness in his fingers, and it's time to cancel all further stories comparing the Rays' young rotation with the '91 Braves.

Not that Kazmir is Johan Santana Jr. yet -- but he did lead the league in strikeouts last year. And Garza's lifetime record in the big leagues is 8-13 -- so as good as his stuff is, he still has plenty of room on his shelf for future Cy Young trophies himself.

But let's review: Why were so many people predicting that this team would finally take that big leap up Mount .500 this year? Because it finally had some high-end young pitching to go with its high-end young bats. Well, scratch that euphoria -- at least until it's clear when these guys are coming back.

"Here you've got a team finally trying to establish itself, and now they lose a front-end cog [uh, make that cogs] in their rotation," said one scout. "It just forces everyone else to move up a slot. And in most cases, it's guys who haven't earned that."

5. Pedro Martinez/El Duque Hernandez, Mets (hamstring/foot)

In a couple of months, this tag team could jet right to the top of this list. But it's so early, Pedro has missed only one start. And the Mets have known for weeks they wouldn't need a fifth starter until April 12. So El Duque's absence has also been a nonfactor (for the moment).

Nevertheless, not having either of them -- and especially Pedro -- changes the Mets' equation immeasurably. One minute, there was so much optimism in this clubhouse over the idea of running Santana and Martinez out there in succession. The next minute, Pedro was limping off the mound in Miami, and reality had set in.

This will make nine times in 10 years this guy will have failed to make 33 starts in a season. And if he could pop a hamstring just throwing a pitch, how fit can he be counted on to be even after this injury heals? Meanwhile, this is El Duque's ninth trip to the DL since 2000. So he's traditionally a lot more valuable in theory than in practice.

"You add the loss of those two guys to the inconsistency of [Mike] Pelfrey, and I'll tell you what it does," said one scout. "It really puts a lot of pressure on Santana. This is a team lacking in starting-pitching depth. So getting as much as they can out of those two guys is critical to the Mets. And I don't know how much they'll get."

Neither do they. Neither do any of us. Which is why The Great Injury Watch of 2008 won't end just because this column ends.

Honorable mention: Scott Rolen, Casey Janssen, Mike Hampton, Andy LaRoche, Nomar Garciaparra, Chad Cordero.

Ready to rumble

• To be continued?: Even though the Cubs and Orioles never got close to finishing off that incessantly rumored Brian Roberts trade, we keep hearing people suggest that it will still happen eventually. Hmmm. Ya sure? A bunch of baseball men who have spoken with both teams definitely aren't.

For all the names we heard bounced around, it doesn't appear there was ever a time when each club had its "best" offer, or even a viable offer, on the table and the other side said no. And when one baseball man was asked this week where those talks stand now, he replied: "I don't think there's anything going on there at all."

Another skeptical assessment, from an official of one bemused team, of the likelihood of this trade going down in July: "Hey, it took so long to not get it done the first time, they'd need to get started now to have it not get done the next time."

• Don't break up the Birds: Besides, how could the Orioles even think about trading Brian Roberts? Aren't they 6-1? Heck, at this rate, he might win the MVP award.

OK, maybe not. But if this winning keeps up, the biggest reason the Orioles' brass will pop champagne isn't that they might not finish last. It's that, in the words of one executive who has spoken with them, "it will create more trade value for all the guys they're looking to move."

And that list hasn't grown any shorter, hot start or no hot start. The Orioles have already advertised that, assuming they're not in first place in July, all these names will be on the table: George Sherrill, Chad Bradford, Ramon Hernandez, Aubrey Huff, Jay Payton, Kevin Millar, Steve Trachsel, Jamie Walker, Daniel Cabrera, Melvin Mora (if he'll waive his no-trade) and (here's that name again) Brian Roberts.

• Get back home, Loretta: With Kaz Matsui down and Ty Wigginton banged up, the Astros have spent the past few weeks deflecting all offers for Mark Loretta. But now that Matsui is finally starting his rehab option, they're expected to reopen the bidding soon -- except they might not have any takers (for now, at least).

The Dodgers no longer appear interested, now that Blake DeWitt has shown he can at least plug their third-base hole for a while. The Giants kicked Loretta's tires early in spring training -- "but all the guys they already have who are like him are guys they're trying to move," one NL exec observes. "So I can't see that one." And there isn't a single other team shopping for an emergency second or third baseman right now. So looks as if Loretta could hang around awhile.

• Not so hot Coco: Another human rumor mill who appears to be going no place soon is Coco Crisp. For one thing, the Red Sox are in no rush to move him. For another, Crisp has $11 million coming, counting 2009 and a $500,000 buyout, and the Red Sox haven't shown much interest in eating that money. So even a team like the Cubs would probably have to dump a contract to take on Crisp's money. Which makes it highly unlikely Crisp is changing area codes until at least midyear, barring a major injury to a center fielder somewhere.

• Where there's a Willis: When we were assembling our list of key injured players, one scout definitely got our attention by uttering the words: "What about Dontrelle Willis?"

Dontrelle didn't qualify, though, because of a technicality: He's not hurt. … Or is he?

Scouts we surveyed say his velocity is down again, to the point where he pitches at 88-89 mph, though he sometimes gets one up there at 92-93. And while his delivery has always been a bundle of flying elbows, knees and spikes, it's now so much more awkward that people are beginning to ask if something's up.

"I saw him twice in spring training," said one scout. "And he looked so uncomfortable that [Jim] Leyland ran out there and checked him right away."

At this point, the Tigers are so confused by Willis' inability to get back in sync, they might almost be relieved if they find out he's hurting. At least that would be an explanation that makes a little sense.

• Ballpark figures: The Marlins aren't saying much yet about the design of their new ballpark. But team president David Samson will say this: It won't remind anybody of Coors Field, Citizens Bank Park or the Great American Ballpark.

"It will definitely be a pitchers' park," Samson said. "That's very important to us -- because pitching wins."

• He's not blue. He's a Jay: Alex Rios' new six-year, $64-million deal in Toronto may not have led any sports sections south of the border. But pay attention, because Rios isn't just another up-and-coming young player.

"He's the guy that's making them go," said one scout. "He's really closed the holes in his swing. He's laying off breaking balls. He's getting into good hitters' counts. He's not missing pitches when he gets them. He's running the bases. He's playing defense. And he got a hell of a raise -- and he's earning it."

• Penmanship in Atlanta: One cardinal rule we've learned over the years is: When the Braves trade away a pitcher, never question it. But other people out there are already second-guessing their decision to deal away reliever Tyler Yates to Pittsburgh at the end of spring training.

"I think their bullpen is going to have trouble," said one scout. "I love [Rafael] Soriano as a set-up guy. But as a closer, I think he's just middle-of-the-pack. … [Peter] Moylan is tough on right-handers, but I don't think he can get left-handers out. … Guys like [Blaine] Boyer and [Chris] Resop have great arms, but they walk too many people and they're up in the zone a lot. And [Manny] Acosta is the same way. … So for me, you take that whole set-up crew, and Tyler Yates is better than all of them."

• Long live the King: The good news is, Felix Hernandez has spun off two straight starts of seven innings or more, five hits or fewer and zero earned runs. The bad news is, he's the third pitcher in the last 50 years to start a season like that and have no wins to show for it. (The others: David Cone in 1997 and Bob Miller in 1963.)

But for those waiting for King Felix to turn into Josh Beckett, at least it's clear he's heading in that direction.

"His body language is great," said one scout. "His command is great. He can dial up that fastball anytime he wants, but he's learning how not to throw 96 on every pitch. He's really learned how to pitch. He pitches inside. He challenges left-handers and right-handers. My concern, actually, is he's trying to pitch too much. He's gotten away from his fastball too much. It's such a good pitch, I'd like to see that more. But it's hard to argue with no runs."

• Senior citizen of the week: As John Smoltz closes in on the 3,000-Strikeout Club (a club with only about half as many members as the 3,000-Hit Club, by the way), one scout who attended the Smoltz-Santana duel last Sunday had this glowing review:

"If John Smoltz had shoulder problems, he sure didn't pitch like it. His stuff was better, across the board, than Santana's. He's just got so many ways to get you out, and such great movement on all his pitches, it's testimony to all the benefits of having a fluid delivery. If you're a kid 11 or 12 years old and you want to learn how to pitch, look at John Smoltz. That's why he's still throwing 96 miles an hour and he's 40 years old."

• The spring training crisis: Bet you didn't even know there is a spring training crisis, right? Well, there isn't yet. But something happened this week that's about to unleash one.

That development was the finalization of the Reds' financing deal with Goodyear, Ariz., making their 2010 move to Arizona official. So why is that a crisis? Well, it's bad enough that one of the best sites in Florida (Sarasota) will be teamless. But it's a crisis because when the Reds leave, it's going to create an odd number of teams (15 apiece) in each state.

The big ramification of that mess is that at least one team will either have to be off, or scheduled for a split-squad game, every day of spring training. That's not an issue early in the spring. But by the last week of the spring, nobody wants to play a split-squad game. And if there is one, there will be so many minor leaguers playing in it, we bet some ticket-buyers will want their money back.

The Reds' exit also worsens the already-arduous travel issue in Florida, where teams are much more spread out than they are in Arizona. And you'd be surprised how many baseball people are ticked off by all of this.

Some of that unhappiness is being aimed at the government officials in Florida who don't even seem to care about all the tourist dollars they're chasing away. But some folks in baseball are also asking this question:

How could the commissioner's office sit back and let this happen? Wasn't this an issue worthy of MLB's intervention? Couldn't the commissioner's discretionary fund have ridden to the rescue when the Reds and Sarasota couldn't agree on how to fund necessary improvements to the complex?

"My understanding is, that's exactly what it was intended for," said an official of one team that trains in Florida. "They don't like to tell us what that fund is used for. But that's what it was supposed to be used for."

You'll be reading lots of stories about this "crisis" in 2010. We just wanted to be the first column on your block to alert you to the impending panic attack.

Taking the Subway

In case you hadn't studied our new logo, Rumblings and Grumblings is now sponsored by the brilliant folks at Subway. So we salute the Subway crowd by handing out these weekly awards:

• The On a Roll Award: Ever-lovable White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is seriously rolling. He's hitting .458. He already has more extra-base hits (six) and more homers (two) than he had all last September. He's gotten at least one hit in all six games he's played. And he has only struck out once in 27 trips to the plate. Is it too early to start our A.J.'s March to .400 Watch?

• Cold Cuts Award: Yikes. Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche's scariest number isn't his .107 batting average. Or his .194 on-base percentage. It's this: 13 strikeouts so far, only three hits. Good thing one of those hits was a game-tying 14th-inning homer Wednesday night -- that ended an 0-for-25 funkdom.

• Worth the Bread Award: Granted, we've got a ways to go before we can figure out whether the Angels got their 90 million bucks' worth out of Torii Hunter. But check out this home run race: Hunter, four homers. Twins (all of 'em), four homers.

• Super Sub Award: We're pretty sure your average American is more likely to think Alex Romero is the guy who started the Macaroni Grill than a guy who keeps coming off the Diamondback's bench to make things happen. But we're here to fix that. Romero has made four pinch-hit plate appearances so far this season. They've gone this way: two RBI infield singles; one sacrifice fly; and one successful sacrifice bunt. No word on whether he makes a mean lasagna, though. Sorry.

Headline of the week

From the crazed sports parody site, sportspickle.com:

Cubs' 100-Year Rebuilding Plan Beginning to Bear Fruit

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. His book, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History," was published by Triumph Books and is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy.