Shadows Were Instrumental in This Game : Postgame Pops Performance Results in Late Start for Padres and Reds By

The brass and string instruments belonging to members of the San Diego Pops had a very comfortable Sunday afternoon, thank you.

It wasn’t too sunny for the trumpet and the shadows across the field at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium had no effect on the tuba.

It was a good day for the Pops. The musicians protected their instruments during the heat of the afternoon and they performed beautifully as the sun began to set in the evening.

It was a tough day for the Padres and Reds, who were forced to play most of Sunday’s 4 p.m. game in tough conditions.

“It was downright dangerous out there,” said Padre catcher Terry Kennedy, who went 0 for 4 and struck out twice in San Diego’s 3-2 loss. “We couldn’t even see the ball in batting practice. How are we going to see it at 90 m.p.h. at 4 o’clock?

“Culture, my . . . What are they, $15,000 instruments. To hell with it.”

Kennedy was not the only player who was unhappy that Sunday’s game was switched from the regular 1 p.m. starting time to accommodate the postgame Pops concert.

The concert cannot be held in the late afternoon because the instruments are not supposed to be in the sun.

“It was pretty cute to start three hours later because of a concert,” Reds right fielder Dave Parker said. “It was horrible out there. The shadows halfway over the field made it hard to see the ball.”

The batters said it was very difficult to see the rotation of pitches.

“It was hard to see the ball out there,” said Andy Hawkins, Padre starter and loser. “But it’s funny when one team sees it and the other doesn’t.”

Hawkins was referring to the 11 Reds hits, including the 10 he surrendered in 8 innings. The Padres managed just three hits against Tom Browning and John Franco.

“I didn’t see the ball at all on my third at-bat,” said Garry Templeton, Padre shortstop. “I was way out in front of a curveball.”

Outfielders had it just as tough.

Padre center fielder Kevin McReynolds just shook his head at the mention of Sunday’s playing conditions.

“There was one fly ball that Rose hit (a fifth-inning single) that I should have caught,” he said. “But I couldn’t even see the ball . . . It was very tough to see anything.”

The Padres were not blaming the starting time for the loss, but they did not think the game should have been played at 4 p.m.

“I didn’t want to file a grievance (with the Major League Players’ Assn.) over this with everything else going on concerning the negotiations,” Kennedy said. “The more 0 for 4s I get, the more tenuous my position is. But if I was hitting .300, I might have done it.”

Said Templeton: “The club should try and avoid these 4 o’clock starts . . . I also think it kind of knocked down attendance Sunday. (The game drew 26,895 fans.) People can go to the beach if the game ends at 3:30.”

But the instruments can’t come to the ballpark if the concert starts at 3:30.