Bowa Singing the Praises of Alomar at Second Base

At first it was a passing fancy, then a flirtation, then your typical schoolboy crush. But as suddenly as seven hits in three games, it has blossomed into something too serious to be dismissed or ignored. As of Monday, when the 20-year-old kid with the moves of a man had two hits and three RBIs, label it eye-popping, chest-beating, starting-lineup love.

At second base for the Padres, No. 12 . . . Roberto Alomar?

For the first time, Padre Manager Larry Bowa admitted he may be leaning that way.

“Actions speak, and up until now, with Robby, actions have spoken,” said Bowa Tuesday after Alomar’s three-run triple led the Padres to their second straight spring victory, a 9-4 decision over the San Francisco Giants.

Going 7 for 13 in the last three games, Alomar is the team’s second-leading spring hitter at .360, with a team-leading 15 total bases, and has been its most spectacular fielder. Of 11 games, he has started five at second base; incumbent Randy Ready has started six.

Ready, 28, who hit .309 last season, is like most veterans--getting in shape at his own pace. He is hitting just .136 and has admittedly not been as smooth as Alomar in the field.

Yet whatever he has done, right now, Bowa only has eyes for Alomar.

“I’ve seen kids like Ryne Sandberg (Chicago Cubs) in his first year, and as far as fundamentals are concerned, this kid is just as sound as Sandberg,” said Bowa. “You know what else tells me he’s ready? He doesn’t give a damn who is out there pitching, he doesn’t even know who is out there, he just plays.

“He might struggle in April and May, but when all the dust is settled, he is going to hit at least .250 and catch everything .”

One problem, a common problem in these things: Before taking this lad down the aisle with him on Opening Day, Bowa must first receive the blessing of Padre management.

If he asked Tuesday, he wouldn’t get it.

Padre management remembers failed experiments the past two seasons with second basemen Bip Roberts and Joey Cora. Both were brought from Class AA to the big leagues in time for Opening Day. This Opening Day, both will likely be in Triple-A.

“Joey Cora, unfortunately, has become the forgotten man,” said Padre President Chub Feeney. “That has to be part of your thinking. We don’t want to rush somebody.”

Countered Bowa: “I know, I’ve got the deck stacked against me with past history. But you’ve got to deal with each individual separately, you can’t throw all rookies together.

“People are tricked when they see he’s just 20. He has played with major leaguers in Puerto Rico since he was 16 years old. He has been around major league baseball for years with his father (Padre third base coach Sandy Alomar). Baseball wise, he is much more mature.”

Countered Feeney: “No question, Alomar has had a great spring. But guys have done that before. He’s going to be a good player, but we have to evaluate just when.”

Bowa countered again by pointing to another raw talent who started in the big leagues before he was ready. Six months later he was the rookie of the year.

“How about Benito Santiago last April?” asked Bowa. “You saw how he struggled. And then you saw what happened.

“I’m telling you, no matter how long we wait to bring him up, there is going to be an adjustment period. Every rookie has to go through it, no matter who they are.”

Bowa even has an answer for what happens to Randy Ready.

“People don’t understand, having these kinds of problems only makes our team stronger,” he said. “Randy did a great job for us last year. If Alomar did make the team, you could always make a trade. Or Randy could be right in there during tough times.”

Bowa paused. “I still say Randy has the inside track on the job. . . . Let’s just say it’s a very, very good problem to finally have.”

The only thing for certain is, the battles during the next three weeks will not be confined to the field. And whatever happens, Alomar or Ready will likely not feel the other guy deserves it more. “I think Alomar is a good player, but they have to be careful,” Ready said. “Their last two experiments haven’t worked out. He has the potential to look good, but then a lot of kids look good now.

“I think experience has to play a big role. I’ve got that, and the confidence, coming off hitting .300.”

Lately, Ready has been struggling with his concentration. While Alomar has been drawing ovations, he has been drawing the curveballs in some far-off batting cage.

“For a while, I didn’t even feel comfortable standing at the plate,” he said. “I didn’t play this winter, and it takes time to get back into it. My concentration was hurting. You can’t be thinking of a million things when you’ve just got to think about baseball.

“But it’s coming. This is my seventh spring, and I know what it takes to get prepared. I’ll be there Opening Day. I’ll be ready to go.”

Alomar believes he’s ready now.

“I want to try the big leagues, I’ve been playing a lot of ‘A’ games against big leaguers, I’ve seen them all my life, I think I’m ready,” he said. “I try to be a smart hitter. I try to play hard and never give up and see what happens.”

About the mistakes made with Roberts and Cora, the newest phenom shook his head.

“We are different people,” he said. “I know I can do the job. My father talks to me about it all the time. I know I can play here.”

Concluded Bowa: “All I know is, if they send Alomar down, it’s just a matter of time. A year, a year and a half, it doesn’t matter. When he comes up, he’ll be here to stay.”

Padre Notes

With the victory over San Francisco, the Padres improved their record to 5-6, with three games remaining on the Phoenix-area part of their spring schedule. . . . Friday’s return to Yuma marks the first televised game of the season, against Cleveland at 7:05, on KUSI Channel 51. . . . Padre reliever Dave Leiper gets credit for this year’s most unusual call: He and his wife, Veronica, who gave birth to a boy last Friday, named their baby Justin Casey. “It comes from the fact that when I pitched for Oakland, I would always have to be at every spring game, just in case somebody would get hurt or get knocked out,” Leiper said. “Everybody called me ‘Justin,’ so I’m just giving that to my boy. It kind of describes my life as a reliever, being in the bullpen just in case there is trouble.” . . . Tony Gwynn took off his bandage and showed teammates his just-operated-on hand Monday. They were stunned that there were only a few stitches and no swelling. “Look at that, it doesn’t look like anything,” shortstop Garry Templeton said. “Told you,” said Gwynn, who is already gently squeezing the hand. “I’m ready to go.” “Not so fast,” warned Templeton. “We have to make sure you don’t rush back and hurt yourself worse.”