Double Trouble for Padres

While his teammates left the field to grab a quick snack Saturday night in between games of their doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies, Padre reliever Greg Harris was nowhere to be found.

He wasn’t in the trainer’s room.

He wasn’t in the dugout.

Nope, he wasn’t in the bathroom, either.

Lurking beneath the stands, screaming in frustration where nary a soul could hear him, was Harris.

“I didn’t want to scream and holler in front of everybody,” Harris said. “I wanted to get away without hurting anybody’s feelings and without showing anyone up.”

Yes sir, that about sums up

every player’s feelings in the Padre clubhouse these days, particularly after the team was swept in a doubleheader by the Phillies, 3-2 in 10 innings and 2-1, in front of a crowd of 25,008 at Veterans Stadium.

The pair of defeats gave the Padres (60-71) five in a row and left them 16 games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds. For the first time, it has become mathematically impossible for the Padres to win the division if the Reds play just .500 baseball the remainder of the season.

“I think the whole experience is frustrating to all of us,” said Manager Greg Riddoch, slumped in his chair. “We’re all contributing to this mess. I feel helpless right now, I really do.

“Losing is sleepless nights. Losing is laying awake wondering what we can do to solve the problem, racking your brain night after night.

“I tell you, losing ain’t fun.”

“These are the dog days, boy.”

It’s hard enough for Riddoch just to motivate his team when they’re hopelessly out of the race and struggling just to hang onto fourth place, one-half game ahead of Houston. But when there’s the unrest in the front office and players publicly complaining about their contract situations, well, it’s little wonder Riddoch finds himself mentally exhausted before the first pitch is even thrown most days.

“We have 30 days left in this season,” Riddoch said, “and guys are wondering about next season. ‘I’m signed. I’m not signed.’ There are a lot of variables, and I tell you, it’s not easy right now.”

Padre first baseman Jack Clark became the latest to publicly complain about his contract Friday, chastising management for offering him a one-year contract for about $2.5 million, with an option year. Clark, according to sources, is seeking a three-year contract for about $9 million.

Jack McKeon, Padre vice president/baseball operations, responded publicly Saturday.

“Where do you see a big deal (contract) pulled off in a day?” McKeon said. “These things take time. You can’t expect to do the deal overnight.

“You’ve got to start somewhere, and we’re going to continue to talk. We’re going to do everything we can to get it done, if we can get it done.

“All I can say is we’re hopeful, but we’re not going to negotiate through the media.”

The Padres are thus unraveling, their offensive production tumbling more rapidly than the New York Stock Exchange.

The Padres actually outdid themselves Saturday, scoring all of three runs and getting nine hits in a doubleheader against the likes of Jason Grimsley and Tommy Greene.

Just what kind of credentials did these Phillie pitchers bring into this exhilarating doubleheader, which lasted 6 hours 14 minutes.

Well, they entered the night with one career victory apiece; Greene owned a 7.71 ERA, Grimsley yielding a .299 batting average.

So what do the Padres do against these guys?

They batted .145 with one extra-base hit, going one for 17 with runners in scoring position.

“We’re a regular offensive machine, aren’t we?” Clark said.

Let’s see, in the opening game, Grimsley walked four batters, gave up a sacrifice fly, a single and two stolen bases, all in the first inning. The Padres came away with two runs and obtained two hits the rest of the game, never again touching third base.

In the second game, Roberto Alomar hit the first pitch for a home run, and that was the extent of their offense.

“It’s like after we score some runs,” Padre outfielder Shawn Abner said, “that’s it. We can’t get things going after that.”

Really, the Padres haven’t gotten a whole lot going the whole trip, wasting night after night of brilliant pitching, yielding a 2.72 ERA. They’ve scored just 15 runs in nine games, batting a colossal .204 and hitting .133 with runners in scoring position.

Heck, John Kruk of the Phillies has produced almost as much offense by himself against the Padres, driving in the winning run in the 10th inning of the first game off Harris, then driving in the tying run off Derek Lilliquist in the sixth inning of the second and scoring the winning run in the eighth off reliever Rich Rodriguez.

“He’s been a one-man wrecking crew, hasn’t he?” Riddoch said.

Oh, well, what’s a team to do but sleep it off and hope somehow they can find a way to end the slump today when the Padres conclude their 10-game trip.

“This is a really tough time for us right now,” Harris said. “This is where men become men, stand up and do something about it.

“We’ve got to start playing better than this. If we don’t, I’m telling you, it’s going to be real hard sleeping at night this winter.”

Riddoch’s sleeping habits, however, have already been affected.

He was planning to spend the night Saturday on the couch in the manager’s office.

“I’ll be up all night thinking about this one, anyway,” Riddoch said.

It has been that kind of season.

Padre Notes

Jack McKeon said that he did not receive a single telephone call from another club before Friday’s deadline when playoff rosters became frozen and doesn’t expect to make a deal before the end of the season. “It’s hard to make a deal when there’s no interest,” McKeon said. . . . Derek Lilliquist’s shutout streak of 19 innings ended in the sixth when John Kruk doubled to center, scoring Von Hayes. . . . Hmm, so you say the club’s trying to save money? Tim Flannery, former Padre infielder, took a flight into Philadelphia on Friday, preparing to fill in and broadcast Saturday’s game for Jerry Coleman. One problem. No one told Flannery that Coleman was staying put this weekend and not broadcasting for CBS Radio. So Flannery took a flight right back to San Diego Saturday afternoon without uttering a sound for the Padre broadcast team. . . . Phillie center fielder Lenny Dykstra on being told that Willie McGee will be eligible to win the National League batting title with his .335 average despite being traded to Oakland. “If you have enough at-bats, what’s the difference if you leave the league or you get hurt. He did put his time in, right? Not by his choice, but he did take the easy way out.” . . . Dykstra, on the reaction to his signing a three-year, $7.3-million contract: “People are saying, ‘How can you give this guy that kind of money.’ I look at those people like, ‘What are you talking about? How can you not give this guy that kind of money?’ I’m leading the league in four categories. I’m leading this team in, like, 12. I look at those people like, ‘What are you talking about. When you play well, you earn a lot of money.” . . . The Phillies and Yankees are the only teams in the major leagues who don’t have a pitcher with at least 10 victories. . . . The Padres’ games against the San Francisco Giants on Monday and Tuesday have each been moved back to 7:35 p.m. to accommodate ESPN. . . . Padre reliever Craig Lefferts was selected as Rolaid’s National League Reliever of the Month by saving eight games in nine opportunities.

Infielders Paul Faries and Joey Cora of the triple-A Las Vegas club will join the Padres on Monday. . . . Minor league data: First baseman Rob Nelson was selected as the player of the month for triple-Las Vegas, batting .327 with nine homers and 35 RBIs; Ricky Bones was pitcher of the month for Las Vegas with a 2-1 record and 3.46 ERA. Second baseman Dean Kelley, outfielder Mike Humphries and Bones, who also played in double-A Wichita, were selected to the Texas League All-Star team. Humphries (.277, 17 homers, 79 RBIs) also was selected as Wichita’s player of the year, and Bones (6-4, 3.48 ERA) was selected as pitcher of the year. Third baseman Dave Staton was Class A Riverside’s player of the year with a .290 batting average, 20 homers and 64 RBIs; Brian Harrison was Riverside’s pitcher of the year with a 5-2 record, 18 saves, and 1.19 ERA.