Kuroda move mostly precautionary

Hiroki Kuroda felt discomfort in his left side while throwing his regular side session on Wednesday in San Diego. He went back to Los Angeles that night and saw Dr. Neal ElAttrache yesterday, at which point Kuroda underwent an MRI that showed nothing major. But when he tried to throw off a mound today, he again felt the same discomfort, so the decision was made -- over Kuroda's objections, according to Joe Torre -- to put him on the 15-day DL to eliminate the risk of him trying to push through it and making it worse (and more long-term). The move is backdated to Tuesday, so Kuroda will be eligible to return on April 22. If he is able to do so, he technically would miss THREE starts (April 11, 16 and 21). But in real terms, he would only miss TWO, because he could be slotted in as soon as he is activated. Trainer Stan Conte was prudent enough not to PREDICT that Kuroda will be activated as soon as he is eligible, but clearly the move was made in hopes he would miss only two weeks as opposed to several weeks. As previously stated, Eric Stults is being recalled from ABQ to hold down Kuroda's spot in the rotation.