King Felix Rules the Disabled List

I mentioned the other day that Felix Hernandez is not out of the woods yet. The Mariners were planning on sitting him out a start or two, but after he threw on the side in Arlington on Monday night, the Mariners placed him on the disabled list.

"Felix was expected to miss about 10 days. Even in our best-case scenarios the earliest we had him pitching was May 2," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said. "This move will not materially change the schedule on Felix and, hopefully, removes any pressure he may feel to try and rush back."

Hernandez is scheduled to start on May 4 against the New York Yankees in Seattle. He'll be limited to 85 pitches in that outing.

As someone who resides in Chicago and has followed the Minnesota Twins closely the last few seasons, I'm not about to think this is anywhere near being over. I've seen it with Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Francisco Liriano already.

Hernandez says that his arm doesn't hurt, it just feels weak.

"I felt pretty good today," Hernandez said on Monday night. "No pain. But I didn't feel too strong. I was nervous. I had to just relax and not throw too hard."

I'm not overly optimistic about Felix's future.

It really does suck that a pitcher like Hernandez could go through these troubles, but it happens all the time with young phenoms. I just get the feeling that this is the first in what could be a long line of arm troubles for King Felix.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
Felix Hernandez Shouldn't Celebrate Yet
Felix Hernandez Leaves With Elbow Tightness