Finally Back Home : Feeney Hopes Struggling Padres Will Rebound in Familiar Surroundings

As Carmelo Martinez’s line drive soared down the left-field line at Candlestick Park, the Padres’ chief executive officer pounded on the press box table.

“Stay fair, stay fair,” he fairly shouted.

Foul. By one strand of Chub Feeney’s hair.

He threw down his pen. He frowned.

“You see?” Feeney said.

Tonight at 7:20, more than 52,000 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium will see as the Padres finally return after six road games to play the Dodgers in the 1988 home opener.

Despite the Padres’ legitimate complaints about being away from home for all but two days in two months, this game couldn’t have come at a better time. They are 1-5 and should be happy that for one night, probably nobody will notice.

“I don’t think they’ll boo the first night, nobody boos you on the home opener,” Tony Gwynn surmised. “The second night, maybe.”

Yet, just one week into the season, there are realities no band can drown out, or fireworks can color.

Like, the relationship between the 1988 Padres and a bad start is a serious one. If extended, this bad start could become more than just something for local disc jockeys to chuckle at. It could do more than allow the Padres to set an unofficial National League record for consecutive games repeating, “We have to turn the page” and “Tomorrow is another day.”

If the Padres immediately fall much worse than this 1-5, if they even stray within cursing distance of last April and May, the reality could be massive changes. Remember, this is not a team that started last year at 42-12. Quite the opposite.

The current makeup of this team might only last as long as Feeney’s patience. And already, he appears tested to the point of giving this team this first run of home games (18 of its next 22) to clean up its act.

“I’ve been waking up at 2 or 3 a.m., thinking about base hits,” he said. “I’m not seriously worried yet, but we’re going to have to wait to see how we do once we get home.”

Before standing in your first 30-minute line to buy a hot dog that you eat before you can get back to your seat, some answers to a couple of questions about what you might be watching: What can a continued bad start do to Manager Larry Bowa?

Feeney has already dictated who Bowa would keep on his opening day roster. He has already dictated how Bowa will act in the clubhouse--when he should yell, who he should yell at.

Some are wondering if this all isn’t leading to a grander plan where, if the team doesn’t play the way Feeney would dictate that they play, Bowa would be fired.

You’ll remember, Feeney did not hire Bowa because he wasn’t club president then. And in spite of one of the better second halves in baseball last year, Feeney would not rehire Bowa until the absolute last minute last season.

Feeney refused to give Bowa a vote of confidence Sunday, only because, “I don’t give votes of confidence to anybody.” But he nonetheless offered his support.

“I don’t know what else Larry can be doing,” Feeney said. “You can’t win if you don’t get runs.”

Feeney, who accompanied the club on their first road swing, met with Bowa on several occasions during the trip, even phoning him at his San Francisco hotel before Sunday’s first victory.

“I wanted to see what floor he was on, in case he was going to jump,” said Feeney, laughing. “No, I just wanted to tell him I was behind him.”

Feeney said he has been most impressed with Bowa’s reaction to the losses. There have been no trashing of clubhouses, no pointing of fingers. To use the players’ word, Bowa has had no “snaps.”

“It is very important that he has kept his cool,” Feeney said. “To make himself a manager, that’s the one thing he had to learn. There is nothing wrong with the way he runs a game. He just had to learn to get along with the players. And so far, he’s done that.”

So far, Bowa has sat back and quietly watched a team lose five games in its first week because it hit .215 with a 5.14 earned-run average. He watched his team irritated by, among others, two free agents who could have helped the Padres but were not pursued this winter by Feeney--San Francisco’s Brett Butler and Houston’s Dave Smith.

He has gone with a team that is not exactly his, taking on a demeanor that is not exactly his, and has said nothing.

So why would Bowa’s job be in trouble? That’s what he wants to know.

“I have done everything they have asked me to do,” Bowa said Sunday afternoon. “I have been patient. I have gone with their decisions. Every day when I leave this clubhouse, I know I have given it my very best effort, every day, and that’s all that I can do.”

Bowa, who is 66-102 as a big league manager, hopes Feeney and the public realize something after last year’s first-half disaster:

“You cannot rebuild in a year,” he said. “It is impossible. Look at Pittsburgh, they didn’t do it in a year. But a couple of years after their low point and look at them.”

During these unsure times, Bowa said he is certain of two things. “Number one, I know I am a winner,” Bowa said. “And I know whatever happens, I’ve got a job somewhere.”

What can a continued bad start do to the players Feeney both acquired and sent down?

Feeney sent down second baseman Roberto Alomar, who has a home run and five RBIs in four game for triple-A Las Vegas. Feeney discouraged attention given to pitcher Greg Harris, who in one Las Vegas start struck out eight in seven innings with no earned runs.

On the other hand, Feeney was the catalyst in the deal which, among others, brought third baseman Chris Brown (.214 with seven strikeouts) to the Padres for third baseman Kevin Mitchell (two homers, five RBIs vs. Padres).

What does he think now?

“I’m not going to panic, I’m going to wait until I find out if something is really wrong,” he said. “If it is, changes will be made. Quick.”

He said he’s not worried about the absence of the triple-A stars. “Remember, they only have to play down there 10 days before we can get them again,” he said. “It’s actually a silver lining, as well as that team has played (three wins in four games).

“Besides, in the case of Alomar, Randy Ready (second baseman) has done nothing to hurt this club.”

Indeed, Ready has played well, both at bat (.250, one homer, two RBIs) and in the field (errorless, with several good stops). The Padres need his bat. But if Alomar were to come up, Ready could also adapt at third base, where Brown is currently struggling.

“Yes, we’re a little worried about Chris,” Feeney said. “He’s not played like we thought, and Mitchell has played better than we thought. We’ll just have to wait, give him more time.”

Feeney added, “Remember, in 1951 with the (New York) Giants, we started out 2-13, and won the pennant. Of course, that just makes me look old.”

Baseball Notes

The Padres held a 90-minute optional workout Monday morning at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, which most of the position players attended. “I was surprised. There were a lot of guys here,” Manager Larry Bowa said. “We haven’t had a day off in a long time. I was just here so the guys could take some hitting. Some guys needed it. We’ve got some who are struggling.” . . . Among those with problems at the plate are third baseman Chris Brown (.214) and center fielder Stan Jefferson (hitless in 16 at-bats). Each took extra batting practice Monday. . . . Bowa said he might make some lineup changes to “get a little offense in the lineup until we get our feet on the ground.” He refused to be specific, but it’s possible he’ll move Keith Moreland from left field to third base and put Carmelo Martinez in left. . . . Pitcher Dave Leiper threw 12 minutes of batting practice and said his left arm “feels pretty good.” Leiper has been on the disabled list since March 27 with tendinitis. Pitching coach Pat Dobson said there is no timetable for bringing Leiper off the disabled list. “We’ll wait and see how he feels,” Dobson said. “We might have him throw three innings of a simulated game Wednesday.” . . . The San Diego City Council has declared Saturday “Steve Garvey Day.” Festivities honoring Garvey will be that night at the stadium. . . Tony Gwynn has signed a one-year endorsement package with McDonald’s, it was announced Monday. He will be used in television and radio commercials as well as public service announcements throughout the season. . . . After the Padres’ workout, Dodger reserves took an hour of hitting. Among those taking batting practice were pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Tim Belcher. . . . Pitcher Ken Howell, who reported stiffness in his shoulder Sunday, might throw a simulated game Wednesday, Manager Tommy Lasorda said.