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	Tuesday, June 6
	Injured Cardinals may be DL candidates Associated Press
	ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals were short-handed Tuesday night, with Mark McGwire, Fernando Vina and Ray Lankford all sidelined by hamstring injuries. Trainer Barry Weinberg said all three will be out at least until Friday. He described the injuries as "mild to moderate." "They're all about the same," Weinberg said. "I'd be happy if one played on Friday, I'd be thrilled if two and surprised if three." Placido Polanco replaced Vina at second base and in the leadoff slot. Outfielder Eric Davis supplanted McGwire in the cleanup slot and Larry Sutton, called up earlier Tuesday, started at first base and batted fifth. Manager Tony La Russa, who used rookie pitcher Rick Ankiel as a pinch hitter and allowed reliever Mark Thompson to bat in a 7-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night, didn't seem to mind going with essentially a 22-man roster. "Guys in the minor leagues do it every day," La Russa said. "It just limits the moves you make. The most important thing every game is who starts the game." Lankford injured his left hamstring running the bases Saturday. Vina injured his right hamstring running out a grounder in the third inning Monday and McGwire left after feeling a popping sensation in his right hamstring fielding a bunt by Royals pitcher Mac Suzuki in the fourth. Vina, who aggravated an injury suffered stealing third base on Friday, said he was unavailable Tuesday. "I'm not going to hit at all," he said. "Just shut it down, completely." McGwire, who had 21 home runs but only one in the last 11 games, wasn't in a mood to talk before the game. "There's nothing to say," he said. "I'm not playing." La Russa hedged whether McGwire could be used as a pinch hitter. "Mark's sore," La Russa said. "Can he hit? I don't know. I think the answer for the Royals is yes." Lankford pinch hit Monday, jogging out a fly ball in the ninth. "He ran very carefully," La Russa said. "You'd just as soon play this game without him." Weinberg said there's no logical explanation for the rash of injuries. "Bad timing," he said. "They all did it differently. One guy's been sore for a little bit and been fighting through it, one guy tried to run to first and one guy tried to pick up a bunt." Weinberg said the disabled list would be considered for all three players on the Cardinals' day off Thursday, if not enough progress is made. Thompson, who has struggled with his control in recent outings, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to make room for Sutton, a first baseman-outfielder. Thompson allowed four runs in the sixth inning Monday and has 12 walks in 13 innings. La Russa said the move was made to give the Cardinals an extra bat, which they need more than an extra pitcher with three days off in the next 14 days. Sutton was 1-for-5 in eight games in May with the Cardinals, with the lone hit a two-run pinch home run at San Francisco on May 8. Another pitcher, left-hander Scott Radinsky, visited Dr. Frank Jobe on Tuesday for a second opinion on his ailing elbow. Radinsky was sidelined the second half of last season with bone chips and his only outing this season, last Thursday at Arizona, lasted only three pitches.