Silva scuffles in dugout

MARYVALE, Ariz. — Aramis Ramirez has been eyewitness to so many controversies during his eight years in Chicago he may have built up immunity.

Between Sammy Sosa, Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley, Ramirez has seen it all.

But after being involved in a dugout scuffle with pitcher Carlos Silva on Wednesday at Maryvale Park, Ramirez himself was suddenly in the spotlight. Not surprisingly, he brushed it off as "part of the game."

"That happens everywhere," he said. "Everything is not going to be (perfect). You're going to have ups and downs. It's a long season. Stuff like that is going to happen."

But "stuff like that" seems to happen more to the Cubs. They may have set a franchise record Wednesday in having two players go at it four games into the Cactus League schedule.

Ramirez called it a "misunderstanding" and declined to go into details, though he admitted Silva was upset about three first-inning errors, including a ball Ramirez lost in the sun.

"That was the only thing that happened, so it was obvious he was kind of upset," Ramirez said. "Nobody wants to make errors. Nobody feels worse than an infielder or an outfielder when they make errors. We talked about it, and everything's cool."

The brouhaha began after the first inning, after Silva gave up six runs. Two long home runs and the three errors upset him and he made an impromptu comment in the dugout about the defensive lapses.

Ramirez took offense and told Silva to keep his harping to himself.

Players and coaches separated the two quickly, and Silva didn't go out for the second inning. The former Mariner left without making a comment.

Notes

• Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, a former Mariner, pitched three solid innings in his first Grapefruit League outing as New York beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in Jupiter, Fla.

The Cardinals expect Chris Carpenter to miss at least one spring start even though the right-hander's strained left hamstring is feeling better.

• San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy vehemently denied any truth to a report suggesting left-hander Barry Zito is not assured a spot on the Giants' roster this season. Bochy said Zito remains his No. 4 starter and told him so in a meeting earlier in the day.

• Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez was scratched from his scheduled start against San Diego in Peoria, Ariz., because of a nail infection on his pitching hand.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers signed pitcher Clayton Kershaw to a one-year deal worth $500,000. The left-hander has been named the opening-day starter against San Francisco.

• Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Scottsdale, Ariz. Crisp is in his second season with the A's and is slated to be the leadoff hitter.

• Detroit Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya said he will miss "a few more days" as he recovers from tearing scar tissue in his surgically repaired right elbow.

• Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett will miss his next scheduled spring-training start because of concussion symptoms. Beckett was hit on the left temple while shagging balls in the outfield during batting practice Monday.

• New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has ended his relationship with longtime agent Scott Boras, who negotiated Teixeira's eight-year, $180 million contract in 2008.