Manny Ramirez wasn't in last night's lineup for the Dodgers after getting hit in the hand with a pitch on Tuesday. The situation called for a no-brainer benching by Manny's fantasy owners ... until he hit a grand slam in a sixth-inning pinch-hit appearance. Oops.

Who's off: Red Sox, Orioles, Royals, Rangers, Marlins, Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Reds, Astros, Dodgers, Rockies

First pitch: The Indians and Blue Jays play the first American league game at 12:37 p.m. ET, while the Giants and Braves start things off for the NL at 1:10. Here's the full schedule.

Pitcher to start: Is Ricky Romero coming back to earth? Last night's ugly outing makes you think so. We're down to 56-62. 

There aren't a lot of options tonight, but we'll take Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami (3.8 percent owned) against the Giants, since the Giants can't hit.

On to the news:

• The Red Sox made a couple of deals yesterday, and the big one was the acquisition of 1B Adam LaRoche from the Pirates. The word I read a lot after the trade was "depth," and that's pretty much what LaRoche is now - a part-time player who won't get everyday at bats unless Mike Lowell gets hurt again. If you were waiting for LaRoche's typical second-half explosion, you're out of luck. His fantasy value just took a nosedive.
• However, since LaRoche is bound to get some at bats, the guy he's likely to take them from is Lowell. I don't know exactly how these two will share time, but Lowell's value can be expected to take a bit of a hit as well.
• Steve Pearce becomes the Pirates' everyday first baseman, and could be a nice pickup in NL-only leagues. Pearce isn't going to be a star, but he's the kind of guy who could hit for a good BA with 15-20 homers.
• Boston's other move was far less impactful, as they dealt SS Julio Lugo to the Cardinals for OF Chris Duncan. Duncan will report to Triple A, so there's no need for you to consider him in most fantasy leagues.
• Lugo will become the Cardinals' backup shortstop, but Tony LaRussa finds a way to get everyone some playing time, and it's likely that Lugo still has some speed (though we can't be sure since he hasn't played much). NL-only owners, take note.
• The Nationals have placed rookie pitcher Jordan Zimmermann on the DL, and even though any elbow injury for a young pitcher is worrisome, this doesn't sound serious. Both Zimmermann and manager Jim Riggleman agreed that if the Nats were in contention, Zimmermann would make his start tonight. Plan on seeing Zimmermann in a month or so.
• Royals OF Jose Guillen left last night's game with "sudden right leg pain," and was taken to a hospital for tests. Figure that we'll know Guillen's prognosis today.
• Jason (The Pride of Staten Island) Marquis will have his next start pushed from Friday to Tuesday due to a blister on his pitching hand. Nothing to worry about yet.
• In other Rockies news, so much for the idea that Manny Corpas will take back the closer role if Huston Street gets traded. Corpas will have elbow surgery tomorrow, and the best-case scenario is a September return.
• The White Sox Web site reports that lefty John Danks is on track to make his next start on Monday. Danks was scratched yesterday due to a blister on his left index finger.
• Don't get too excited about Matt Thornton's save last night, because White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen insists that Bobby Jenks will close Sox games from now through eternity. Guillen said of Jenks, ''He's my closer, and if people don't want him to be my closer, don't come to the damn game." Take that, you ticket-buying scum!
• The Pirates hope to get SS Jack Wilson back in the lineup tonight. He's missed some time this week with a tight hamstring.
• Tigers 3B Brandon Inge is planning to play through knee pain and avoid the DL for as long as he can. Note that I didn't write "play well through knee pain" - Inge is batting .167 in July, though he does have three homers.
• A flu bug has bitten the Rangers, and one player impacted is Vicente Padilla, whose next start has been pushed back to Monday.
• Finally! My bargain AL keeper league starter, Ryan Rowland-Smith, will be recalled to start Friday for the Mariners, pushing Erik Bedard back a day. July 24 isn't too long to wait for a guy's second start of the season, right?
• New Brewers 2B Felipe Lopez wasn't in the starting lineup Wednesday due to a hamstring injury, but he did pinch hit. He should be fine for tomorrow.
• Angels OF Juan Rivera was out again last night with his sore hamstring, and the team isn't really saying when he'll be back. Not going to the DL is a good sign, I guess.
• The Indians will recall southpaw Jeremy Sowers to start Saturday. Please try to contain your excitement.
• Ryan Dempster could make his next start for the Cubs as soon as Sunday if an MRI today shows good news. Do you think he'll jump over the dugout fence again if he gets the win?
• The folks at Camden Chat seem to think that Chris Tillman's big-league debut will come Tuesday for the Orioles. I'd plan to watch it on MLB.TV, but since I live in Charlotte, O's games are blacked out for me. Which makes sense, since my house is only 465 miles from Camden Yards. Maybe I should just buy a ticket and go to the game.

See you tomorrow.