Padre Notebook : Unknown Shoppers Give Locker Calling Cards

Creative minds were at work in the Padre clubhouse Thursday.

Unidentified sources (Bobby Brown and Jerry Royster were seen laughing privately) put sarcastically appropriate baseball cards above several lockers.

Samplings:

Kevin McReynolds--Dick Williams. Enough said.

Carmelo Martinez--Williams and Eric Show. Last September, Martinez and Show nearly fought after Martinez thought he heard Show accuse him of dogging it on a fly ball.

Goose Gossage--Tom Foley. The light-hitting Foley beat Gossage with a home run in Cincinnati in 1984.

Bip Roberts--Tim Flannery, Royster and Alan Wiggins. Roberts is attempting to replace Flannery and Royster, who replaced Wiggins.

Steve Garvey--Who else? He got Steve Garvey.

Larry Bowa, Las Vegas manager--Shawn Dunston. Last season, Dunston replaced Bowa as the Chicago Cubs’ shortstop.

Add Bowa: Players and coaches are conducting pools concerning two items--when Bowa will receive his first ejection this year and how many he will receive.

Ready or not, the Padres open exhibition play with a three-game series against the Angels today through Sunday in Yuma.

Is Manager Steve Boros ready within 10 days of replacing Williams?

“I don’t have any problems,” Boros said. “I think everything is on schedule. I was very busy the first couple of days with the responsibilities of interviews and returning phone calls. We still got the work done that we wanted to. I don’t think I have slept as much as normal, but that’s all right. I’ll get caught up.”

Starting pitchers for the weekend will be Eric Show today, Andy Hawkins on Saturday and Dave Dravecky on Sunday. Channel 39 will televise Sunday’s game at noon.

Kurt Bevacqua, the man without a team, will be given four at-bats in a 10 a.m. B game today, Boros said.

Bevacqua, a free agent, would not be able to play for the Padres until May 1 under the collective bargaining agreement. The Padres could send Bevacqua to Las Vegas until May 1 before recalling him, but chances are slim they would do so.

“I don’t think that would be fair to a younger player,” Boros said. “It would be difficult for a younger player to go north (to the big leagues) then be sent back to the minors to bring up Kurt. I won’t say it won’t happen, but it would be a very difficult thing to do.”

Ballard Smith, team president, returned to the Padres’ spring training facility shortly after noon Thursday. After saying a couple of hellos, Smith took off for a round of golf at a local course.