PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Padres Officially Place Harris on the Disabled List After Test

Padre starter Greg Harris tried to smile Saturday, but couldn’t. He tried to talk in a clear voice, but instead spoke in almost a whisper. He tried to look at the bright side, but couldn’t find one.

For the first time in his career, Harris was placed on the 15-day disabled list, with anconeus tendinitis in his right elbow. The Padres waited two days before announcing their decision, but really, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said, there was little choice. Harris will be eligible to come off the disabled list May 8 because the move was retroactive to April 23.

“We didn’t want to take any chances,” Riddoch said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, and we didn’t want to jeopardize a thing.”

Harris threw 45 pitches on the side before Saturday’s game, just to make sure he wasn’t 100%, and when he reported stiffness in his arm, the Padres made the decision official.

Derek Lilliquist, 3-3 with a 4.33 ERA last season for the Padres, will replace Harris. He will make his first start Tuesday against the Mets in New York.

“It’s very, very disappointing,” Harris said. “I feel so bad. I’m disappointed in myself really, because I have to look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I didn’t do something right during the winter to prepare myself.

“I’m sure there are some circumstances you can’t help, but I’m a believer that you control your own destiny. I don’t know, I just feel like I let everybody down. I look around, and everybody’s playing great and having fun, and I got to go on the DL.

“This is the last thing I wanted.”

Apparently, the firing of Phillie Manager Nick Leyva caught the promotion department by surprise.

Guess who’s on the cover of the Phillie game programs distributed at Veterans Stadium for the Padre series?

Nick Leyva.

He will be replaced on the cover beginning Tuesday by catcher Darrin Daulton.

Just how awful has the Phillies’ pitching been this season?

Tommy Greene has thrown five wild pitches, more than the entire total of 14 major league teams, and yet, he’s only second on his staff in the dubious category.

Jason Grimsley has thrown eight wild pitches, which is more than every team but the Cincinnati Reds.

The Phillies have thrown 19 wild pitches, with eight runs scoring on wild pitches.

Their staff already has walked 104 batters, and are on a pace to shatter the big league record of 827 walks by the 1915 Philadelphia Athletics.

The ex-Padre player of the week award belongs to Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays. Carter batted .440 for the week, with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs.

News around the league with ex-Padres:

Minnesota Twins third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, on constantly being labeled as one Tony Gwynn’s critics: “I’m getting real sick and tired of everyone saying I was one of the people against Gwynn,” Pagliarulo said. “It’s all a bunch of lies. I never said a word about Tony Gwynn. I would never say a word about one of my teammates.

“I just think Tony Gwynn sat down one day, looked around and said, ‘Hmm, these are the guys I want out of here, and they got rid of us.’ ”

Is Pagliarulo surprised the Padres are in first place?

“Hey, it’s a long season,” he said. . . .

Twin center fielder Shane Mack, who hit .326 last year after the Padres left him unprotected in the draft, could be settling into his old ways. He’s batting .118 this season (four for 34), and after starting in eight of the first 10 games, now finds himself on the bench.

“What do I have, 30-some at-bats?” Mack said. “You can’t judge my season like that. You can’t doubt my ability. I’ll get it worked out. I’ll be OK.”

Just what does Mack think is the biggest surprise of the Padres?

“I can’t believe what Eric Nolte is doing,” Mack said of his former teammate at UCLA. “He could throw 96 m.p.h., but the problem was that he’d throw 96 every pitch, and his arm would fall off.” . . .

Reliever Goose Gossage of the Texas Rangers hasn’t allowed a run this season, allowing only four hits in 6 2/3 innings. “I’m back,” Gossage said.

Hmm, wonder if the Chicago Cubs wish they had been a little more patient with bullpen stopper Mitch Williams after all?

At a time when Cubs bullpen stopper Dave Smith has blown three consecutive saves and now has tendinitis in his bicep, Williams has five saves.

Just how important is the home run? The Padres have been outhomered, 19-8, this season, and are in first place. The Giants have outhomered the opposition, 21-7, and are in last place. Said Merv Rettenmund, Padre batting coach: “I’m not saying it’s the all-important thing, but eventually we’re going to have to start hitting home runs.” It’s assuming, of course, that Rettenmund is referring to someone else besides Andy Benes to hit home runs. . . . The Padres will play the third game of their four-game series against the Phillies at 10:35 a.m. today. Eric Nolte (3-0) and Jason Grimsley (0-3) are the scheduled starters.