It is inevitable that during the course of the season each owner is going to have to deal with a certain number of injuries. As a league champion currently in a position to repeat, I've found that the key to overcoming the DL is two-fold.

First, don't put all your money on one horse. I try to stay away from "Superstar" players and their high salaries and fill my team with middle-of-the-road types who are going to get the ABs. That way, when injury strikes (and it always does) I'm not going to lose too much in any category. Guys that have performed well for me in this way are Troy O'Leary, Shawn Green and Jose Offerman.

Second, I like to keep my team stocked with players who qualify at more than one position, or who are playing behind injury-prone players who are already on my team. A good example for me last year was Mark Loretta of the Brewers. I played Loretta at 2B and at 3B most of last year and he even filled in for me at 1B and SS for a couple of weeks! All he did in that time was hit right at .300 and knock in over 30 runs. Not bad for a guy that I got for next to nothing. Much better than leaving a DL'd player sitting in my line-up for two or three weeks.

The way things look to me, the more versatile and broader-based my team is, the better chance I have of overcoming those dreaded injuries.

Oh, yes, and one other thing: If you're in a league which allows you to keep a reserve list of players for substitution, stock up on pitchers. They get injured twice as much as position players it seems and their injuries are usually more serious.