Rob Nelson Takes Good With Bad : Padres: Two home runs in 10-7 victory over Angels proves uplifting to reserve first baseman. But owners announce new roster plans, hurting his chances of making team.

Rob Nelson couldn’t believe it. Finally, something right was going his way. When he drove away from the ballpark Wednesday afternoon, he knew there was nothing, not a thing, that could possibly spoil his day.

His wife could scream at him. His seven-month-old baby could cry all night. Bikers could ride up and down the hallway of his hotel.

Hey, when you’re struggling to make a big league team, and then go out and hit two home runs with four RBIs in the Padres’ 10-7 spring-training victory over the Angels, there’s not a whole lot that can upset you.

Then, the phone rings.

You’ve just been informed that the major league clubs have changed their minds, and instead of opening the season with 27 players, they’ll now use just 24 at the outset, eliminating the three-week expanded roster.

Your initial reaction consists of just two words:

“Oh no.”

“I had such a great day, and now something like this happens,” Nelson said. “I don’t understand it. I think 27 guys would have really helped the ballclub the first month. You’ve got guys who aren’t even ready yet.

“Why do these things always happen?”

Nelson is one of perhaps a dozen players who might have had a shot at making the Padres with the expanded roster. But now, unless something happens to Phil Stephenson, Nelson’s chance of being with the Padres on opening day is a little like Pee Wee Herman winning an Oscar.

Oh, the possibility still exists. This is a guy who almost beat out Mark McGwire for the first base job in 1987 in Oakland, and spent 42 games with the Padres last season. But Padre Manager Jack McKeon said Wednesday that Nelson needs to be playing every day, and unless something happens to starting first baseman Jack Clark, that’s just not going to happen with the Padres.

“It’s really frustrating,” he said. “I was thinking that as long as you’re one of the 27 guys on the team, if you can just make something happen during those few weeks, you might have a job for 10 years, who knows.

“Well, there goes that. Hopefully, if I don’t fit into Jack’s plans, he’ll trade me.”

The change in rules, which also returned the minimum qualification for pitching victories to five innings instead of three, forces the Padres to adjust their plans.

No longer can McKeon afford to keep a couple of extra outfielders such as Thomas Howard or Alex Cole, or an infielder like Eddie Williams. Instead, McKeon said, he likely could open the season with 11 pitchers, leaving a utility player behind until the pitching staff is in shape and only 10 are needed.

“We might have to open up with an extra pitcher, and then when we’re all set, we could send him down and bring back a position player,” McKeon said. “The biggest thing is that we’ll make cuts a whole lot earlier.”

However, pitcher Dennis Rasmussen, the Padre player-representative, said: “I think it could be a real problem for the pitching staff. It might force a manager to have a starter out there for four or five innings, no matter how his stuff is. That’s not fair, but that’s the way it might have to be for a couple of weeks.”

Although the reduced roster size disappointed most of the players who are vying for a roster spot, the return of the five-inning minimum requirement for victories for starting pitchers was widely appreciated.

“It was becoming a joke among the pitchers,” Padre catcher Ronn Reynolds said. “Instead of five and fly, it was going to be three and flee.

“I’m a little disappointed about the other rule change, because I thought they might keep three catchers. Now I know I’ll be in (triple-A) Las Vegas. The only good thing about that is that I know I’ll be up as soon as one of the catchers get hurt. And the chances aren’t too good that two catchers can go a whole season without an injury.”

Perhaps the most-experienced Padre player who will be affected by the roster reduction is outfielder Shawn Abner. He spent the last half of the 1989 season with the Padres, but now it appears he will lose his job to either Jerald Clark or Cole.

Yet, when told of the rule change, Abner shrugged and said: “That’s all right. Who wants to make it as one of the extra guys anyway, and then get cut after three weeks? All you’d get out of it is a couple of extra bucks and big league service time. You weren’t going to play unless somebody died.

“So to me, maybe it’s better this way. You’ll find out what’s going to happen early instead of worrying yourself sick for three extra weeks.”

Padre Notes

Padre pitcher Andy Benes, who took an anti-inflammatory shot in his right shoulder last Friday for tendinitis, pitched three perfect innings Wednesday, with the exception of one batter. Benes’ first pitch was sent over the right-field fence by Devon White, and then in the third, White laid down a perfect bunt. Those were the only hits allowed by Benes, who recorded the victory. “You know, I envisioned something like that might happen,” Benes said. “Man, my first pitch of the spring, and a guy hits it out. At least things went better after that. I feel pretty good now. My shoulder’s still a little sore, and I can’t cut loose yet, but I’ll be all right.” . . . Angel pitcher Bert Blyleven, who has not swung a bat in a regular-season game since 1980, drew the biggest applause of the game with his at-bat in the third inning. Blyleven swung and missed the first two pitches badly, but before Benes could deliver the third, Blyleven pointed his bat toward the center-field fence as Babe Ruth did in the 1932 World Series. Benes, trying to keep a straight face, threw him another fastball. Blyleven swung and fouled it off into catcher Mark Parent’s mitt, striking out. He then slowly walked to the dugout, and slammed down his helmet in mock disgust. “When he walked up to the plate with those green florescent wrist bands,” Benes said, “you figured something was up.” . . . And you wonder why this guy has won four batting titles: Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn went two for two with a double and a three-run homer during the game, and then took an hour of batting practice. “I didn’t feel all that good,” Gwynn said. “I still need to get more work.” . . . Teammate Joe Carter, listening to Gwynn talk about his homer: “Hey, you’re supposed to get base hits, man, let me drive them in.” . . . Padre left fielder Fred Lynn went two for three with a homer and two RBIs. For the spring he’s three for six with three walks. . . . Padre relievers struggled for the second consecutive day. Greg Harris yielded six hits and six earned runs in the ninth inning. . . . Shortstop Bip Roberts and second baseman Roberto Alomar pulled off a defensive gem in the third inning. Roberts dived behind the second-base bag, stopped Wally Joyner’s ground ball, and flipped blindly to Alomar, who threw to first for the double-play. “When you’ve got guys making plays like that,” Benes said, “it’s real easy to pitch up here.” . . . The Padres made an error in determining their attendance for the first two games, and have learned that just 1,691 tickets were sold for the opener, and 1,441 tickets sold for the second game. They drew 1,604 for Wednesday’s game, bringing their three game total to just 4,736--still 1,078 less than their average spring-training attendance of a year ago.