Padre Notebook : McKeon Is Pleased at Camp’s Halfway Point

The Padres have as much young talent as they’ve ever assembled, according to Jack McKeon, general manager.

With spring training past the halfway mark, the task now is to determine who’s ready and who needs more seasoning, McKeon said.

The Padres made some decisions Monday, when they trimmed six players from the major league roster and reassigned them to the minor league complex.

Monday’s cuts included infielder Randy Asadoor, catcher Sandy Alomar, outfielder Randell Byers, pitcher Joe Bitker, outfielder/first baseman Scott Parsons and pitcher Candy Sierra.

“Now we have to try to put together a ballclub after juggling the lineups in the first part of the spring,” McKeon said.

His impressions of new manager Larry Bowa’s camp are highly favorable.

“It hasn’t been boring for anyone,” McKeon said. “I haven’t seen anyone standing around. I think everyone is working hard.”

Veteran first baseman Steve Garvey said he’s never seen a camp run more efficiently than this one.

“A lot of times, when you have a four- or five-hour workout, there’s a lot of standing around. But here, we’ve been constantly moving,” Garvey said. “That’s the way to get the max out of your workout. It keeps your interest level up. I think it’s going to pay off for us.”

Garvey said his personal standards remain high, and he pushes himself harder than Bowa or anyone else.

“I know where I stand with Larry,” he said. “I expect to be the starting first baseman and control my own destiny with my performance. That will dictate how much I play.

“I don’t feel any pressure (from Bowa). My own goals are stimulus enough. My standards are quite high.”

Another veteran with no illusions is utility infielder Tim Flannery.

He has seen rookie Joey Cora assume the starting job at second base, and he apparently accepts it without bitterness.

“I’ve told Joey I hope he will have the job for the next 10 years so I can go back to my role,” Flannery said. “I want to be the best utility man in baseball.

“I know I’m not here to compete for a starting job. If I was the No. 1 guy, I’d have been in the lineup from the first day. I heard Jerry Coleman say on the radio, ‘They’re going head to head for the starting job,’ and I almost drove my car off the road. I’m not stupid. I know what’s going on. They’re going with a youth movement, and I’m the backup second baseman.”

The Tim Raines negotiations appear to be over, but it’s going to be a while before some of the Padres forget.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” outfielder Tony Gwynn said. “We’ve still got to play. But it’s something we can’t understand or forget. We can’t be distracted forever by it, but we know there are a lot of disappointed people here and in San Diego. We’ve just got to try to win without him.”