The Chicago Cubs placed star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list today after he suffered a groin injury during yesterday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Garciaparra injured the groin in the third inning of last night's game when he hit into a double play. The Cubs star barely made it out of the batter's box before he fell to the ground clutching his groin area.

Garciaparra is off to a slow start this season, hitting just .157 with four RBIs.

Although Wednesday night's game was delayed by rain for one hour and 22 minutes, Garciaparra refused to blame the wet conditions for his injury. 'I'm not going to blame the rain,' he said after going 0-for-2. 'The field was in great condition, the grounds crew did a great job, and the field was definitely playable and all of that stuff. I just slipped.'

Garciaparra has a history of injury problems. After capturing the AL batting title in 1999 and 2000, he missed almost all of 2001 after undergoing wrist surgery. Last year, Nomar missed two months of the season with Achilles' tendinitis.

To take Garciaparra's spot on the roster, Chicago recalled Ronny Cedeno from their Triple-A affiliate in Iowa. Cedeno was batting .348 with three home runs and six RBIs in 13 games in the minors.