Padres : Abner Has, Evidently, Bolted Bowa’s Doghouse

As anyone old enough to count the veins in Padre Manager Larry Bowa’s neck will tell you, a guy can travel from Bowa’s doghouse to stature as one of his pets as quick as . . . well, as quick as a Shawn Abner haircut.

Ask Shawn Abner. Bowa’s most curious trait surfaced again Sunday, this time in a most curious way with a most curious of outfielders.

The 21-year-old rookie, who has been scolded this spring for missing cutoff men and steal signs, who as late as Saturday was still on the roster only as insurance for Tony Gwynn’s finger, suddenly looked around Sunday to find Bowa smiling.

Widely smiling. Wildly talking, about permanent roster spots and starting jobs and, who knows, maybe he won’t even yell at him anymore.

The kid with the military-punk hair style marched through center field for a second straight day, went 2-for-2 in a 7-3 loss to the Angels, and suddenly Bowa says he has a chance to make a previously set outfield group.

“I’m telling you, Abner is hungry,” Bowa said. “He’s playing right now like a man possessed. He knows what’s going on, and he smells it. He knows there is not a lock on any job.

“He can play all three positions. He can run, and he can throw. He’s got a chance.”

What? This from a manager who just last week said, “Abner knows what his role is, he’s only here because we aren’t sure if Tony Gwynn will be ready opening day or not.”

This from a manager who, without naming him directly, earlier said a bunch of other stuff about Abner?

Stuff such as, “Some of our young outfielders just aren’t listening, they aren’t getting what we are trying to do. We have to get people who will do things right.”

Or like, “We need to get some people out there who will use their heads.”

Because Bowa said those things after games in which Abner made obvious mental errors, there was no question who he was talking about. The question now is, who is he talking about this time? Is it really Abner?

Perhaps, but the kid has only started the last two games, and even with going 3-for-6 in them, he is just hitting .286 this spring with only three extra base hits and no homers.

“If I’m possessed, then I was possessed when I first got down here this spring,” Abner said. “I’m not doing anything different, just making less mistakes.”

Could Bowa instead be talking to regular center fielder Stanley Jefferson, who hasn’t had a hit in his last 14 at-bats, including five strikeouts. Could Bowa be using Abner’s name to push Jefferson? If so, Jefferson is not buying.

“I can’t worry if this or that guy is coming after me,” Jefferson said. “I’ve got to do my job, and the rest will take care of itself. And after a couple of days in the batting cage, I’m swinging fine.

“Shawn does good, it’s good for all of us, because I know all of us can be in the major leagues somewhere. I’m happy for him.”

Or could Bowa be talking to the Padres other young right-handed hitting outfielder, Shane Mack?

Thought to be a sure roster bet, Mack has been used sparingly this spring--he has five fewer at-bats than Abner--and is hitting .270 with just four RBIs. Because of his excellent defense and late-inning base stealing capabilities, Mack was going to make this team regardless of what he hit. Or is he?

“Hey, if I get sent down, it won’t be the end of the world,” said Mack, who hit .239 for the Padres in 238 at-bats last season. “When I’ve had my chance this spring, I haven’t hit, so I understand. Shawn is doing well. I don’t have a choice, so I’ll accept what happens.”

If Bowa really is talking about Abner, look for him to replace Mack, not Jefferson. But even that might not make sense considering Abner, who played his first season at triple-A last year, has already said he wouldn’t want to come to the big leagues unless he could start.

“If I can get him as many at-bats as Mack, that could work,” Bowa said.

“I don’t know,” Abner said. “I can’t answer that right now. I just try to play hard and don’t think about it, because I don’t make the decisions.

“If I make the decisions, I’m playing every day. I’m even pitching.”

Padre Notes

Tony Gwynn, recovering from finger surgery March 11, played his first full game Sunday. That’s two days earlier than when he said he’d play nine innings, and about a month before anyone else said he’d play nine innings. Although there is still discomfort in his left hand, particularly when he throws, Gwynn hopes this should make his comeback complete. “I’m back, I’m here, a full game, it’s over with,” Gwynn said. After he went 1-for-3 to improve his post-surgery spring average to .500 (4-for-8), nobody argued . . . Larry Bowa confirmed Sunday that Dave Leiper, who came down with elbow tendinitis just as he was reaching the deciding rounds of the fight with Candy Sierra for the 10th pitcher job, will likely start the season on the disabled list. “Doctors said he shouldn’t throw a ball for a week, so we’ll probably just disable him,” Bowa said. This would appear to formalize a spot for Sierra, a nice 21st birthday present for the native of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Last year’s double-A Wichita star becomes the youngest member of the team, and one of only two Padres to reach the big leagues without a day in triple-A. The other is Eric Nolte. As a point of reference, when Padre elder Keith Moreland played his first big-league game with Philadelphia in 1978, Sierra was 11 . . . Chris Brown was still experiencing pain and swelling above his left elbow, but could be ready as soon as today. “I hope to give it a shot,” Brown said. . . With six games left--three against major league competition--the Padres are within two losses of tying their spring record for most defeats. Showing how these things aren’t as bad as they sound, that record of 17 was set by 1984’s eventual National League champions.