Sore shoulder not a concern for Ramirez

MESA, Ariz. -- Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez did not appear worried Friday about a sore right shoulder that has kept him out of both Cactus League games so far.

Manager Lou Piniella said Ramirez has a tight right shoulder and that he's day to day.

"We've got plenty of games," Piniella said. "When he's ready to go, we'll put him out there to play."

Piniella described Ramirez's problem only as "things that happen in spring training."

Before batting practice Friday morning, Ramirez took groundballs at third base but did not throw to first. Instead, he underhanded the ball off to the side. He took batting practice without problems.

Before this year, Ramirez had been bothered off and on by leg problems.

"I'm just a little tender in the shoulder; no reason to push it," Ramirez said. "I'll take a couple of days and see how it goes."

Ramirez added the problem developed "a couple days ago."

Quick-stepping: Lefty Rich Hill got a chance to test his new, quicker delivery to home plate Friday. Hill is trying to cut down his leg kick to keep runners from getting a big jump off first base.

"It was fine; it was about 1.3 (seconds) consistently to home plate," Lou Piniella said. "He didn't have to vary anything. He was a little slower on a few pitches, but for the most part, consistently 1.3, 1.31. Not bad."

Piniella added that Hill approached 1.5 seconds to the plate last year. Hill said he was comfortable with the new step. Last year he had trouble trying to find a comfortable delivery out of the stretch.

"We're getting there," he said. "Obviously, it's not 100 percent there, but we're going to work on it. It was a good step in the right direction, as they say. One of the good things was just being quick.

"Obviously, it was a little erratic trying to be quick to home, but the fastball was coming out well."

Aches and pains: Infielder-outfielder Daryle Ward has a sore glute muscle that kept him out of Friday's game and may force him to miss today's game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe, where he could have DHed.

Infielder-outfielder Ronny Cedeno is nursing a sore right forearm. The Cubs attribute the soreness to the extra throwing Cedeno has done from the outfield during drills.

This and that: Closer candidate Carlos Marmol worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning Friday. Kerry Wood and Bob Howry will work today against the Angels. … Pitcher Jeff Samardzija worked 1 inning of a simulated game Friday morning. He will see game action next week. … Lou Piniella praised the work of nonroster men Casey McGehee (2-for-2), Andres Blanco (1-for-1) and Luis Figueroa (2-for-2), but he said he may back off on pitcher Billy Petrick. Piniella said the ball "isn't coming out" of Petrick's hand well.