Notebook | Mariners place ace pitcher Erik Bedard on 15-day disabled list

Erik Bedard said Tuesday his injured left hip feels better, but he still is not ready to make his next scheduled start Friday against the Angels.

Facing that reality, the Mariners placed Bedard on the 15-day disabled list and slotted knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to take Bedard's next turn in the rotation.

Bedard's placement on the DL is retroactive to April 9, the day after he last pitched against the Tampa Bay Rays. He will be eligible to come off April 24.

Manager John McLaren said the team hopes Bedard will be ready to start that day, when the Mariners host Baltimore.

"We think that's realistic," McLaren said. "We thought it was unrealistic to ask him to do it before then."

Bedard, 29, has inflammation in his left hip that caused him to be scratched from his scheduled start Sunday against the Angels at Safeco Field. He had also been scratched the previous Sunday in Baltimore with the same injury, but came back to pitch two days later in Tampa Bay.

Bedard played catch on Tuesday and said he felt good. "He didn't feel anything, so that's a positive," McLaren said. "We'll check him out [Wednesday]. We'll be lining up a bullpen [throwing session] for him in the next few days."

The Mariners won't announce the corresponding roster addition until today, they said. Brandon Morrow, pitching at Class AA West Tennessee, is a possible candidate. Morrow threw two hitless innings Monday. In six innings through Monday, he had allowed one unearned run on three hits while walking six and striking out eight.

Dickey, meanwhile, would be making his first major-league start since April 6, 2006 with the Texas Rangers. Since then, he has been designated for assignment by the Rangers and been in the Milwaukee and Minnesota organizations while perfecting the knuckleball.

"It's a real redemptive game," he said. "We'll see what happens, but I'm at a place I feel I'm ready for it. I'm not putting all my eggs in that one start. I feel I have a lot to offer. I'm going to try to live in the moment of it and see what happens."

Before the DL announcement was made, Bedard spoke briefly with the media for the first time since he missed the start. He said he feels better each day, and that they're going "day by day" on his regimen.

Asked if he was encouraged by the progress of his injury, he said, "It's always encouraging when it's getting better."

Asked if he was concerned that this injury was going to drag on, he said, "We'll see after my next start if it hurts still. Then maybe it will be something that drags on."

And if that's the case, "I think rest is probably the only thing" that will help, he said.

Comparing how it feels now to how his hip felt in Baltimore last week when he was scratched the first time, he said, "I think it's better."

Honoring Robinson

Four Mariners players, plus McLaren, donned No. 42 on Tuesday in honor of Jackie Robinson Day, being celebrated throughout baseball.

For the second year in a row, all players in the majors were given the option of wearing Robinson's 42, which was retired in 1997 on the 50th anniversary of Robinson becoming baseball's first African-American player.

Those opting to do so were Arthur Rhodes, Miguel Batista, Yuniesky Betancourt and Adrian Beltre, in addition to McLaren. Mike Morse had intended to do so but was not in uniform after being placed on the disabled list Monday. For the Royals, manager Trey Hillman, outfielders Joey Gathright and Jose Guillen and third-base coach Luis Silverio wore No. 42.

McLaren said he chose to wear the number "out of respect for what he's done for our game. I'm really big on the history of the game. Jackie Robinson probably had a bigger impact than anyone. Not only from the baseball standpoint, but all the way around, what he endured, what he went through."

Notes

• Closer J.J. Putz, who is eligible to come off the disabled list Thursday, played catch Tuesday with no discomfort. Putz has costochondritis, which is inflammation where cartilage attaches to his rib.

There is still no indication when Putz will be activated, or whether he will need a minor-league rehab assignment. McLaren said Putz will likely throw off a mound tonight when the Mariners open a series in Oakland with the A's.

• Kenji Johjima's two-run double in the fifth inning was the 1,500th hit of his career, combining Japan and the Mariners. He had 1,206 with Fukuoka and 294 in Seattle.

• The two games against the Royals featured the third- and fourth-smallest crowds in Safeco history. Monday's attendance was 16,751, while Tuesday's game drew 17,137. The smallest Safeco crowd ever was 15,989 against the White Sox on May 2, 2007.