The Mariners' Felix Hernandez is off to a decent start, pitching just about the same, statistics-wise, as he did in 2012.
He's had some minor back issues -- "tweaking" it, is what they're calling it -- and now he's going to miss at least one start. Geoff Baker:
"Felix is feeling better, but no sense in pushing it right now,'' Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "I know he feels like he can pitch at any point in time, but we're going to make sure that we're careful with this. We've got the off-day on Thursday, so we'll see how he feels again tomorrow and decide where we're going to go from there.
"We've got multiple options because of the off-day."
Wedge said Hernandez's pre-game catch session was "just OK, but not to the point where I felt comfortable bringing him back on Wednesday."
Wedge said a DL stint is "not even a consideration for us right now."
All of this is likely manager-speak for "We're really worried but there's no way I'm going to tell any of you reporters."
Hector Noesi will start on short rest Wednesday, after he threw 68 pitches in a loss to the White Sox last Saturday.
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