Padre Notebook : Santiago Gets Some Hits and Enough All-Star Votes to Challenge Carter

Don’t look now, but Padre catcher Benito Santiago is quietly getting hot. He went 2 for 4 Wednesday in the Padres’ 8-7 loss to San Francisco, giving him a .326 average over the last 14 games (15 for 46) and increasing his overall average to .239. That’s the highest it has been in more than a month; he was hitting .244 on May 18.

He’s also throwing out an excellent 48% of would-be base stealers (22 of 46). At the same time--and this is probably just a coincidence--the All-Star voters are beginning to remember his name. He has climbed into second place among National League catchers, fewer than 20,000 votes behind the New York Mets’ Gary Carter as of Wednesday (464,673 to 445,048).

“I’m feeling good now. I’m more patient now,” Santiago said. “I think everything will be OK.”

In the all-star balloting, Santiago is the only Padre even remotely close to first place. John Kruk is sixth among first basemen, Garry Templeton is eighth among shortstops and Tony Gwynn is eighth among outfielders.

Just as quietly as Santiago’s rise, second baseman Roberto Alomar continues in his biggest struggle of his season. He went 0 for 5 Wednesday in San Francisco to drop into a 1-for-17 funk, and his average fell to .239.

“If I don’t do it at the plate, I’ll have to keep doing it in the field,” Alomar said. “I don’t need a rest; I’m not tired. I’ll break out of it.”

Alomar, a rookie, has missed only two of the 59 games the Padres have played since he was recalled April 20.

While Alomar has ensured his spot as the Padre big league second baseman for possibly many years, the two rookie second basemen who were busts in the previous two Padre seasons are proving that they deserve to play for somebody.

The 1987 phenom, Joey Cora, is hitting .300 for triple-A Las Vegas, with 16 steals in 20 attempts. The 1986 phenom, Bip Roberts, is playing third base for Las Vegas and hitting .303 with 13 steals in 15 attempts.

Center fielder Stanley Jefferson has finally topped the .300 mark at Las Vegas. He is hitting .306 with 17 steals in 19 attempts. If the surprising Marvell Wynne falters in center field for the Padres, look for Jefferson to be called up and installed as the full-time starter.

Jefferson could be called up sooner, but Padre officials do not want him sitting on the bench. The same goes for Mike Brumley, who has established himself in Las Vegas as the Padre shortstop of the future. He is leading the Pacific Coast League with a .336 average and has 29 steals in 39 attempts.

In Tuesday’s 8-3 win in San Francisco, Randy Ready had eight assists, tying a club record. He also tied a club record for third basemen by handling nine total chances.

Not bad for a guy who began the season as the Padres’ starting second baseman.

On Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco, Chris Brown made his first appearance in four days when he pinch-hit in the ninth inning. He drew a walk and scored a run.

Considering that Ready went 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored the same day, improving his average to .268, it will be tough for Manager Jack McKeon to shove Brown back into the lineup anytime soon.

When McKeon used Tim Flannery to pinch-hit for pitcher Ed Whitson, who was tiring, in the seventh inning Wednesday in San Francisco, it was a basic baseball move, right?

Not quite. At the time, Whitson was on a 4-for-13 roll at the plate, and Flannery had just 3 hits in his last 13 at-bats. For the season, Whitson had three doubles and eight total bases. Flannery had no doubles and eight total bases.

So what happened?

Flannery, who has proven that he will hit if he is given enough playing time, struck out swinging. It was only his 27th appearance in the team’s 72 games.