PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / JIM LINDGREN : Gwynn Says Injury to His Arm Not as Bad as Some People Think

Tony Gwynn insists everyone is making a bigger issue of his arm injury than need be.

“People are making a big deal out of it, and it’s not,” Gwynn said before returning to the lineup Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. “When you play this game enough, you’re going to have dings and pains and injuries, and that’s just a part of the game.

“I’m not going to sit here and make a big deal out of it. People want to know how I feel, can I play? Yes. It’s no big deal.”

Gwynn strained a flexor muscle in his left arm just above his elbow making a throw from right field during Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the New York Mets. He said he knew something was wrong the moment it happened but remained in the game.

On Monday, after Gwynn reported some soreness in the arm, he was sent to Scripps Hospital for a magnetic resonance imaging test. The MRI revealed there was no damage to the ligament, but it took a while before the doctors were satisfied with that diagnosis, Gwynn said.

“I got there around 2:30, and the next thing you know, I didn’t get out until quarter to nine,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, Gwynn did not play Tuesday either.

“I didn’t sit out. They kept me out,” Gwynn said. “I didn’t have a choice. They wanted to be cautious because you don’t want to keep playing with an injury and lose time later in the season. That’s why they did what they did. I’ve got no complaints with that.”

Manager Greg Riddoch said Gwynn was about 80% healthy for Wednesday’s game. With Greg Maddux on the mound for the Cubs, Riddoch could not afford to keep Gwynn out of the lineup. Entering the game, Gwynn was 19 for 38 in his career against Maddux.

In an attempt to give Gary Sheffield consecutive days off, Riddoch kept him out of Wednesday’s starting lineup. The Padres have an off day today before playing host to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series beginning Friday.

“Just giving him a blow,” Riddoch said. “He’s deserved one.”

It marked the fourth game in a row that Gwynn, Sheffield or Fred McGriff, who sat out Sunday, was missing from the Padre lineup.

Ordinarily, Tim Teufel would have gotten the start at third, but he’s nursing a sore back.

To the chagrin of Ryne Sandberg, Craig Shipley made his second start at third, 10th overall this season.

Shipley robbed Sandberg of doubles in the third inning--diving to his right--and in the sixth--leaping and stretching.

Dave Eiland, who had been on a minor-league rehabilitation stint, was activated from the disabled list Wednesday and promptly optioned to Las Vegas, where he will continue to pitch for the Stars.

In the Who-Would-Have-Guessed Dept., Tony Fernandez and Darrin Jackson lead the Padres in games played with 120 apiece. Sheffield is next at 118 and then Gwynn and McGriff at 115.

Both Jackson and Fernandez also lead the team in at least one other category.

Center fielder Jackson has only one error and picked up his 14th assist Wednesday, nailing Mark Grace at second when he tried to advance on a deep fly out by Andre Dawson.

Fernandez, the leadoff hitter, shares the lead in sacrifice bunts (eight) with Bruce Hurst and Craig Lefferts.

The Padres took a team photo before Wednesday’s game. Bruce Hurst, however, missed it after getting caught in a traffic jam on Interstate 5 because of a brush fire near Del Mar.

“It was a parking lot out there,” Hurst said. “What could I do?”

With their just-completed and highly successful West Coast trip now complete, Chicago first baseman Mark Grace assessed the Cubs’ chances of overtaking Pittsburgh and Montreal in the NL East.

“We’re going to have to play unbelievable ball, but we can do it,” he said. “We still have six games with Pittsburgh and six games with Montreal so we control our own destiny.”