M's Notebook | Ramirez lands on 15-day DL

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The good news for Mariners starter Horacio Ramirez is that his left shoulder didn't feel as sore on Friday as he thought it might.

The bad news is that Ramirez is making his latest trip to the disabled list because of an arm he hoped had seen the last of its troubles three years ago. He twice has had surgery on the shoulder, in 1998 and 2004.

Ramirez won't know the full extent of the bad news for at least a few days. He'll fly to Seattle on Sunday, meet with team medical director Dr. Edward Khalfayan, then cross his fingers.

"I haven't had any arm problems the last couple of years," said Ramirez, pulled just two innings into Seattle's loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday after his arm stiffened up. "That's why it's a bit of a surprise for me. My mechanics were fine. My workout regimen was good. I think I'm a little fatigued right now. It's was actually to a point yesterday where I couldn't throw any more."

The Mariners called right-hander Jon Huber up from Class AAA Tacoma to fill Ramirez's roster spot. Huber will be used in short relief. The Mariners still have to find a starter to take Ramirez's next scheduled outing, Tuesday against the Angels.

It won't be fellow starter Jeff Weaver, also on the DL. Weaver has thrown two bullpen sessions and manager Mike Hargrove wants him have at least one more, then either a simulated game or minor-league rehabilitation assignment before being reactivated.

Left-hander Ryan Feierabend has pitched well in Tacoma and remains a viable option. So does righty Justin Lehr, but he pitched for Tacoma on Friday and wouldn't have time to recover for a Tuesday start. Righty Jorge Campillo has also pitched well, but unlike Feierabend, he isn't on the 40-man roster.

Joking with Garcia

Mariners third-base coach Carlos Garcia took some pregame clubhouse ribbing on Friday, one day after getting Jose Lopez thrown out twice at home by a large margin.

Lopez emerged from the training room of the visitors' clubhouse, surgical tape pinning his arms to his sides. On his shirt, cut from more tape, was a "13," Garcia's uniform number. The idea was that this "Garcia" couldn't raise his arms to wave runners around third.

Garcia and Lopez have a good relationship, and the coach took the joke in stride while Mariners players howled with laughter. But Garcia was still visibly shaken by Thursday's events and the criticism he took for his ill-advised decisions.

He discussed the challenges associated with coaching third and sounded philosophical about his future.

"We're all, as coaches, going to get fired in this business some day," he said. "If you know you're eventually going to get fired, the only thing you can do is keep going out there every day, doing your best at full speed. That's the only way to go."

Welcome up

Huber arrived here Friday afternoon, joining a Mariners squad he'd been expected to make this spring. But after a very rough training camp, during which he got smacked around routinely, the 25-year-old didn't set any timetables for a return to the majors.

"I just wanted to take that pressure off and not do that to myself," he said. "Just kind of relax and get my mind clear and free. I wanted to make sure I'd get going good. I didn't want to get rushed up here, not feeling well."

Huber, who was 1-2 with five saves and a 4.01 ERA in 15 outings for Tacoma, pitched a scoreless ninth inning Friday.

Notes

• An examination of RH reliever Chris Reitsma's sore right elbow found no structural damage. Reitsma is eligible to come off the DL a week from today, and the Mariners hope he can be activated at that time.

• Ichiro's leadoff home run in the first inning marked the fifth time in his career he has gone deep in back-to-back games and the fourth time he has done so in consecutive at-bats. He hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning of Thursday's loss.

For the record

Streak: W1

Home: 12-11

Road: 10-11

vs. AL West: 8-7

vs. L.A.: 1-5

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 3-1

vs. AL East: 7-6

vs. AL Central: 6-7

vs. NL: 1-2

vs. LHP: 8-3

vs. RHP: 14-19

Day: 7-8

Night: 15-14

One-run: 4-6

Extra innings: 0-0