Santiago’s Evaluation of Padre Staff: It ‘Stinks’

Padre catcher Benito Santiago said Wednesday that the San Diego pitching staff “stinks.”

He said their best pitcher is reliever Goose Gossage, followed by starters Ed Whitson and Andy Hawkins.

“Other than those three, they stink,” Santiago said before Wednesday’s game.

“Pitching is why we’re terrible. When have you seen one of our pitchers knock somebody down? Not this year. If you don’t pitch inside, my brother, who never plays ball, could come in here and get a hit.”

Santiago, who was chastised by Manager Larry Bowa for a number of physical and mental errors in Tuesday night’s loss to the Expos, conceded that he is frustrated with losing. But Gossage agreed with the rookie catcher’s evaluation of the Padre staff.

“I think we’ve got guys (on the pitching staff) who are afraid,” Gossage said Wednesday. “They’re afraid to screw up. We’ve got guys who can pitch on teams that are going good, but this is when true colors come out. It’s twice as hard to go out there when you’re losing.

“Our guys are afraid. They know who they are. And they (the Padre front office) ought to release them because they’re worthless. Trade ‘em. Do whatever they want with them.”

Santiago said he has had recent problems with pitchers Dave Dravecky and Eric Show. He said he has gone out to the mound to speak with them, and they’ve told him to get lost.

“I think most of the pitching staff call their own games,” Bowa said. “You’d think with their records, they’d listen to somebody else, like Benny. I’ll admit won-lost record is not a fair evaluation of a pitcher, but ERAs don’t lie.”

Only Show chose to respond to Santiago’s criticism.

“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Show said, “He’s trying hard. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of things said this year by different people that they don’t mean.”

Santiago said that Storm Davis, Craig Lefferts and Lance McCullers keep complaining about his signs. They say they can’t see them. So he has put tape on his fingers, to make the signs easier to pick up.

The ploy hasn’t exactly been a rousing success. Santiago has 10 passed balls this year. He says it’s because the pitchers keep crossing him up. He calls for fastballs and they throw sliders.

Santiago didn’t accuse the three pitchers of purposely misleading him, but he did say, “If they don’t understand the sign, don’t throw it. Step off and call me.”

The Padre pitchers are last in the National League in earned-run average (5.03), last in complete games (one), last in runs allowed (289), last in walks (213) and last in home runs allowed (72).

Santiago singled out Davis, Show and McCullers for some less-than-specific criticism, but he was willing to give the struggling Hawkins the benefit of the doubt.

Of Davis (1-5, 6.18 ERA), Santiago said: “He’s got good stuff. I don’t understand why he gets hit. I can’t believe it. But sometimes I call the ball inside, and he puts it outside and they kill his mistakes.”

Of Show (1-7, 4.30 ERA), he said: “When he’s ahead (on the scoreboard), he’s fine. But when he’s behind, he gets upset and can’t pitch.”

Of McCullers (2-3, 5.08 ERA), he said: “McCullers is tough, but sometimes he throws it right in the middle of the plate.”

Of Hawkins (2-7, 4.97 ERA), he said: “He’s a pretty good pitcher. He’s pitched good, but he’s had bad luck, a lot of RBI bloopers.”

Of Gossage (0-0, 3.97 ERA), he said: “You know he’ll throw the ball. That’s why I like Goose. He’ll come inside. He’s got a good slider. He’s the best pitcher here.”

Santiago thinks most of the pitchers don’t respect him. He thinks that’s why Show and Dravecky ignored him.

“Maybe they think this is a rookie behind the plate, and he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Santiago said.

Gossage, for one, doesn’t see it that way and he doesn’t believe his teammates do, either.

“Oh, we respect him,” Gossage said. “I’ve never thrown to a young catcher with so much ability.”

Padre Notes

Sources close to the Padres indicated Wednesday that Chub Feeney, former National League president, is the front-runner to replace Ballard Smith as team president. Tal Smith, former president of the Houston Astros, was mentioned as a possibility, but Smith is not interested in the job. Neither Feeney nor Padre owner Joan Kroc could be reached for comment Wednesday night. . . . Shortstop Garry Templeton missed Wednesday’s game with a sore right shoulder. He said he feels pain in the back of the shoulder and also in his right chest, so he’s pretty sure it’s a muscle pull of some sort. He is scheduled to see a doctor today.

Center fielder Stan Jefferson is on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder, and team sources say both McKeon and Manager Larry Bowa are angry that Jefferson doesn’t want to play hurt. So when Jefferson comes off the disabled list in two weeks, there’s a chance he might be sent down to Triple-A.