Padre Notebook : Gwynn Says He Can’t Wait, Gets Permission to Return Today

The patient has lost all patience. With the force of a line drive up the middle, a certain injured Padre has shoved his way back into the lineup.

Starting in right field today against the Seattle Mariners--Tony Gwynn.

It’s exactly two weeks after surgery on his left index finger, more than two weeks ahead of anyone’s most optimistic predictions. It’s two days ahead of even Gwynn’s previous plans.

It was either this or the funny farm.

“I’m just too anxious. I’ve got to see how the finger feels,” Gwynn said Thursday afternoon. “It’s like it’s been teasing me, saying, ‘C’mon, you can do it, you can do it,’ and then I get out there, and they won’t let me play.

“I just couldn’t wait anymore. I’ve got to find out.”

Gwynn, who planned to return to the lineup Sunday against the Angels in Palm Springs, phoned hand specialist Merlin Hamer Wednesday afternoon. He told Hamer he could wait no longer.

‘It didn’t hurt anymore when I swung, and the pain when I threw was decreasing,” said Gwynn, who has been taking batting practice since last Saturday. “I’ve felt ready since Tuesday, so what the heck? I didn’t know what waiting two extra days until Sunday would do for me.

“I told the doctor I had to see what I could do. I promised I wouldn’t play that long, and that if I couldn’t do it, I would come out of the game.”

Padre trainer Dick Dent called Hamer again Thursday morning with further reassurances. Hamer warned Dent that if Gwynn grimaces, he should be taken out. Then Hamer gave his blessing.

“They have to believe that if I didn’t think I was ready, I wouldn’t try this,” Gwynn said. “That’s the truth.”

Thus Gwynn will play five innings with the hand wrapped in a light bandage and covered with a special rubber device that resembles a miniature knee brace.

It will be his first game since March 9, when he left a contest with Milwaukee after one inning because of pain. Tendon surgery was performed on March 11, and six stitches were removed on March 19.

Initial estimates placed his return at sometime during the team’s first 10 regular-season games, beginning April 5 in Houston. Since then, estimates have drastically changed.

“Tony has already told me he’s going to be in the lineup opening day,” Padre Manager Larry Bowa said, shaking his head.

Gwynn has been out just two weeks, but listen to him and it has been two months.

“I’ve been, uh, anxious,” said Gwynn, who for once was understated. “I’ve seen the team working hard, getting ready . . . and I’ve been in ice packs and stretching and doing the same stuff day after day.

“I could do everything else--lift stuff, open doors--but I couldn’t play. It has been very hard.”

Strange things have happened. Once, Gwynn actually refused to sign an autograph. Another time, he refused to give away one of his broken bats.

Stop the presses, but until a couple of days ago he even refused to give personal interviews about the hand.

“Go on, say it,” Gwynn said, laughing. “I’ve been ornery.”

Bowa prefers a kinder word.

“He’s just been antsy,” he said. “During the game, I’ll look down the dugout for a pinch-hitter, and there’s Tony, shouting, ‘I’ll hit, I’ll hit.’ ”

So today, not knowing if he’ll later regret it but unable to stand the suspense, Gwynn will hit.

“My teammates have kept saying, ‘Take your time, don’t rush it back,’ ” said Gwynn. “I just feel now is the time.”

The Padres will make their second-to-last cuts today and eliminate five players from the 31-man roster. According to Bowa, they will break camp here Saturday night, and depart for a four-game series with the Angels in Palm Springs, with only two extra players.

One will be outfielder Shawn Abner, who will be kept as insurance in case Gwynn can’t start the season. The other will be a pitcher.

This could mean the big-league end, at least temporarily, of 20-year-old second baseman Roberto Alomar. It depends on who wins the eternal argument: Bowa, who wants him now, or the club president, Chub Feeney, who doesn’t want to rush him.

After hitting .357--.415 over the past 10 games--and generally performing as the star of the spring show, Alomar said he will not take any demotion lightly.

“With the spring I have, I’m supposed to make it,” he said earlier this week. “If I don’t make it, what do I have to do to make it? Be a veteran?

“I know if it’s up to Larry, I’ll make it. But Chub Feeney is worrying about it. If he only lets me in the big leagues, I’ll show him. A spring training like I’ve had, nobody is supposed to go to triple A.”

An extra pitcher will be kept because the Padres simply can’t make up their minds. They probably will keep Dave Leiper or Keith Comstock, both left-handed relievers, then will choose between the winner of that battle and 20-year-old right-hander Candy Sierra for the final spot on the staff.

Another pitching decision involves the starting rotation. Of Mark Grant, Eric Nolte and Andy Hawkins, two will start and one will be moved to the bullpen.

Hawkins is coming off two good performances, and Grant didn’t hurt himself Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners. Grant become the first Padre to go seven innings, surviving nine hits to allow just two runs in a 4-3 loss in 13 innings.

Padre Notes

While Bowa was naming Ed Whitson as the opening-day starting pitcher Wednesday, the country-bred Whitson was at a nearby lake, fishing. It turned out to be a good day all around, as he and two friends caught 21 bass. Whitson was back on the lake Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m, catching five more bass by himself. “Opening day is a thrill, but shoot, that night, my feet don’t touch the ground even when I’m on the bench,” said Whitson of his April 5 start in Houston. “I’ll just do what I always do, go as hard as I can for as long as I can.”