Padre Notebook : Under Bowa, Moreland Says He’s His Own Man

Last in the two-mile run but last in the batting cage. First impressions matched the legacy Thursday as new Padre Keith Moreland reported to camp one day late, then promptly made up for it. The red hair was mussed, the shirt was dirty, and the bat was in his hands long after most everyone had left.

“The shock of the trade is over, my job is to play baseball, and that’s what I’ll do,” said Moreland, who recently came from the Chicago Cubs with infielder Mike Brumley for pitchers Goose Gossage and Ray Hayward. “I believe in biorhythms, or whatever they are--some days you are great, some days you stink. But every day you work as hard as you can, and you will end up winning more than you lose.

“That’s what we should shoot for here first. Getting above .500. That would make us a winner.”

Other than that, Moreland predicted nothing, promised nothing and offered no apologies for finishing last in the run--”I’m 34, I’m too old for that.”

The highest-paid Padre ($2.5 million for next two years) was a day late because of personal business in Chicago. But he was so determined to get here that instead of driving in from San Diego, he flew.

“Yuma is not the metropolis of the world,” Moreland said. “But it’s a good place to get the job done.”

Lost in the handshakes and backslaps was the beginning of a most unusual relationship. Bowa and Moreland played together in Philadelphia from 1978-81 and in Chicago from 1982-84. For the first time, a close Larry Bowa teammate has become his employee.

Well, sort of.

“I’m still going to call him ‘Bonesy,’ ” Moreland said.

“I’m still going to call him ‘Zonk,’ ” Bowa said.

Unintelligible nicknames aside, the two agree it will be different but think it will work.

“I think it will be easier that way,” Bowa said. “He knows how I played, he knows what I expect.”

But, warned Moreland, don’t expect him to be Bowa’s clubhouse lawyer or snitch. He’ll still be a player, and Bowa will be the manager.

“The media is pushing that at me, but it’s not true, I will call no meetings and be no pipeline,” Moreland said. “Even if Larry asks me, I won’t do it. Please stress that.

“I’ll be vocal, but it will be of my own doing, not Larry’s.”

The buzz around rookie pitcher Greg Harris continued Thursday.

Last year’s Double-A star won the two-mile run for the second consecutive day, then pitched well in batting practice for the sixth consecutive day.

“I’m telling you, the kid’s impressive,” Bowa said.

Added pitching coach Pat Dobson: “Do I like him? Hell, I’d like to trade places with him.”

Wait at least until he’s thrown in a couple of spring games before calling him the camp phenom. He pitched this winter in Puerto Rico, and thus comes in with a considerable advantage.

But pitchers have made the jump to the big leagues from Double-A before.

“It’s a much easier adjustment than for position players,” Dobson said.

In 1984, the Seattle Mariners brought up a kid named Mark Langston, and all he did was win rookie pitcher of the year. And Dobson was once responsible for such a jump. He brought up Bob Gibson from Class-AA El Paso to the Milwaukee Brewers several years ago, when Dobson was the pitching coach there.

“Sure, it could be done,” Dobson said. “Sometimes you have to figure, what’s better, carrying a young guy who is going to get better or an older guy who is past his prime? The young guy can make sense. The biggest adjustment is the mental one. They will go through some tough times.”

Harris didn’t have many of them last season. He was the class of the Texas League, striking out 170 and walking 49 in 174 innings at Class-AA Wichita. In one 56-inning stretch, he allowed 11 earned runs (1.77 ERA) and won 7 of 8 games.

He finished the regular season with a no-hitter and for the second consecutive season was voted the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year. In 1986, he went 13-7 with a 2.63 ERA for Class-A Charleston.

He’s a 6-foot 2-inch right-hander from Greensboro, N.C.

Padre Notes

The pitchers for the opening spring game March 4 here against the Angels will be Eric Show, Jimmy Jones and Mark Davis. Each will throw about 45 pitches. . . . Garry Templeton had the boil on the inside of his left leg removed Wednesday night, missed Thursday practice, and will miss again today. . . . Line of the Day: Tim Flannery, grabbing his surgically repaired ankle after hustling around the bases during a running drill: “Hey, can you tell, they implanted some Bip Roberts ligaments in here!”