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Josh Johnson still hurting

Bells and sirens are going off in my head, I could be wrong, but this doesn't sound good to me.

Josh Johnson has had some irritation in his right biceps/triceps area recently. But Johnson, who was part of a foursome of standout rookie pitchers last season, showed up Saturday confident he would be ready by Opening Day. He had a magnetic resonance imaging exam Jan. 31 that was negative, but he has not thrown since and he will not throw this week.

''We're going to back him off,'' Gonzalez said. ``There is a little bit of a concern there.''

The good news is they aren't going to rush him, but the bad news is he is still having soreness in his pitching arm.  While there is no reason to hurry and if he isn't a part of the starting rotation at the beginning of the season, so be it.  But what is a concern is whether he will be able to make it through the season once he rejoins the staff, if he rejoins the staff.  I'm starting to think he's more likely to be a candidate to become a patient of Dr. Andrews than to be a worthwhile contributor to the Marlins rotation this year.

If Johnson can't go, then Mitre or Pinto will probably fill the slot.