Geoff reported that Cliff Lee had headed to Seattle. Now we know why. The Mariners just put out a release saying that Lee has a right lower abdominal strain and was treated this afternoon in Seattle by team medical director Dr. Edward Khalfayan.

Lee underwent an ultrasound exam, and Dr. Khalfayan gave him a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection. He will be re-evaluated in seven days.

"We are hoping for a speedy recovery and look forward to him returning,'' Jack Zduriencik said in the release.

Lee apparently hurt himself initially when he collided with Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder while Lee was backing up the plate during the first inning of a start in Tucson last Monday. Snyder was the on-deck hitter and they got tangled up. Later in the game, in the third inning, Lee threw a pitch behind Snyder, leading to a bench-clearing incident and a five-game suspension for Lee.

"He said he felt it in there during the collision,'' Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. "He thought that's when it happened. It got tighter as the game went on.''

Lee tried to throw a bullpen session yesterday and still felt something.That's when Wakamatsu said he first found out there was a problem.

"It's not a good feeling,'' he said. "We're extremely excited about having him in the rotation. We'll have to evaluate and see where we are. It makes the decision-making process harder. We'll let it run its course and re-evaluate in a week.''

Wakamatsu added, "It's good they caught it when they did. We'll see where we're at in a week. He might feel like a million bucks. We still have 14 days (of spring training) and a lot of decisions. This is not one we were prepared for. Hopefully, he doesn't lose a lot of time.''

Obviously, this does not bode well for Lee being ready to start the season -- something that was already called into question by his five-game suspension. Lee, you'll recall, had surgery on his left foot on Feb. 5 to remove a spur that had broken loose from its attachment. He had seemingly recovered from that, but now he has an injury that has a tendency to linger in some cases.

Not the sort of smooth start to his Mariners' career that Lee and the team envisioned.