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Seattle Mariners place season hopes on Hernandez

If you`re looking for a reason to renew interest in the Seattle Mariners, Felix Hernandez is your man. Or man-child. Or teenage boy, if you want to be accurate. He is 19, born in 1986. The year Jamie Moyer started his big-league career. Two years after Jeff Nelson graduated from high school. The year after Mike Hargrove retired as a player. Yet there was the Mariners` new wunderkind on Tuesday night, hurling zeroes -- and 97 mph fastballs -- at the Twins for eight straight innings in his Safeco debut. Scattering five hits in a 1-0 shutout. Looking all the world like the best pitcher the Mariners have trundled out to the mound since Freddy Garcia at his All-Star finest.

"That was something special," said Mariners catcher Wiki Gonzalez, a fellow Venezuelan in his sixth year in the big leagues. "That was something you don`t see every day. But for him, I hope we can see that most of the times he pitches. I hope his career can be like that. I just hope to God he stays healthy for his career, because that kid is unbelievable."

So often the hype exceeds reality by a wide margin when it comes to young baseball phenoms. And surely there is still much pitching - and judging - to be done before Hernandez takes his place in baseball lore. But if he keeps up his current performing ways, such a place is sure to be not far off.