Padres Show Off New Five

The Padres apologized profusely Wednesday for the timing of their gala press conference. On a day the nation goes to war, it hardly seemed appropriate to talk about a baseball season, much less discuss the intricacies of a batting order.

“To tell you the truth,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said, “this stuff doesn’t mean crap right now.

“When I came into the airport, I saw two servicemen in uniform, and I just kept staring that them. I kept thinking, those could be my sons.”

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, said it wasn’t until just a few hours before Wednesday’s noon press conference that the Padres decided to continue with their original plan. Besides, at the time of their function, no gunfire had commenced.

“We debated quite a bit today to go through with the luncheon,” McIlvaine said, “but we decided that life must go on. “

So the Padres, after a brief moment of silence for U.S. troops, went on as planned, introducing the five new players they acquired in the off-season, with each saying just how happy they were to be wearing a Padre uniform.

First baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez, picked up in the trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, talked about coping with the shock of leaving Toronto, and the prospect of Yuma, Ariz., becoming their new spring-training home. Larry Andersen, the Padres’ big free-agent acquisition, provided a brief comedy skit. Second baseman Marty Barrett vowed to prove to the Boston Red Sox that they made a mistake by saying he’s finished. Middle reliever Wes Gardner, another former Red Sox, talked about how Boston Manager Joe Morgan misued his abilities.

It all was standard stuff, really. Everyone gave their speeches. Everyone talked about the past, and their hopes for a bright future. Everyone talked about the prospect of helping bring the Padres to respectability, and perhaps a championship in the future.

Then, it was Manager Greg Riddoch’s turn at the podium. He cracked a few jokes. Talked about how he wants to forget all of the gory details of the 1990 season. But before departing the stage, he said something a bit peculiar, catching the audience by surprise.

He looked over to McIlvaine’s table, raised his voice for effect, and said:

“And to you Mr. McIlvaine, I’m going to tell you right now you’re going to have a lot of trouble getting rid of me, because I plan on being here, and I plan on having a championship here at some time.”

The remark caught McIlvaine off-guard, and perhaps even embarrassed him. When he returned to the podium, it was as if he needed to respond.

“I’m kind of mystified by that comment,” McIlvaine said. “You’re kind of putting your head on a chopping block. Don’t do that.”

Said Riddoch, who already was seated: “That’s where it’s been.”

It was the first time that Riddoch publicly addressed his status as Padre manager, and obviously, he has been listening to the hearsay and whispers that his job is on the line.

The facts remain: Riddoch is on a one-year, $160,000 contract, and he is a leftover from the Jack McKeon regime. Three of Riddoch’s new coaches were McIlvaine’s recommendations. And Riddoch has little influence in trades or player acquisitions.

So is this why Riddoch chose to make his statement?

“You know what they say,” Riddoch said, “managers are hired to be fired. But I just wanted to let him know that my heart’s here. I like the city. I like my job. And I don’t want to let it go.”

Said McIlvaine, dismissing any speculation that Riddoch is already on the hot seat: “I’m counting on him as a manager of the future. We work together really well. You’re not going to have problems this year between the front office and the management.”

And so it went Wednesday: The Padres are five weeks away from their opening of spring training, and optimism prevailed. No one predicted that the Padres would win the National League West, but the Padres vowed to surprise anybody who is penciling them in fifth place.

“I think this is going to be a good team,” Riddoch said. “We were one of the worst fundamental teams in baseball last year. We will change that.”

McIlvaine, who has invited 24 pitchers to training camp, predicts that pitching might be their biggest surprise. And when asked to pick a surprise player, he never hesitated when he said, “Marty Barrett.”

“I don’t know if you can say he’s going to come back from the dead,” McIlvaine said, “but I think he’s going to play very, very well. He had a year last year when he was written off, and any athlete worth his soul doesn’t want to hear that.”

The Padres also chose this function to announce the signing of outfielder Darrin Jackson, who had filed for arbitration. Jackson, according to his agent, signed a one-year, $260,000 contract. He earned $145,000 last year for the Padres.

“We figured that would have been the midpoint in the (arbitration) case anyway,” said Alan Meersand, Jackson’s agent. “We would have filed for $320,000 or $325,000, and they probably would have come in at $200,000, $210,000.”

But this was an event staged primarily for the introduction of McGriff and Fernandez, who have the task of making Padre fans forget Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter.

The plan for McGriff is to become the human launching pad, hitting at least 40 homers this season. The plan for Fernandez is to become the human vacuum cleaner, sweeping up balls in his glove that will leave hitters exasperated.

“I’m not going to predict how many I’ll hit,” said McGriff, “but if I get my at-bats, I’ll guarantee you I’ll get my share of homers. If I hit it, they’ll go. I’m really not an outspoken-type of guy, so I’ll just let my actions speak for me.”

The only change or adjustments he’ll have to make in the National League, McGriff says, is his uniform number. No longer will he be wearing No. 19. A guy by the name of Tony Gwynn has that number. Instead, he’s switching to No. 17.

“I’m not superstitious or anything,” McGriff said, “but I sure like that number. It’s been good to me.”

Fernandez, quiet like McGriff, and deeply religious, never wanted to be traded from Toronto. After all, he was reared in the organization, playing in their system at the age of 16. But he knew one day he’d have to leave, and when he did, he was hoping it would be San Diego.

“As much as I hated to see it end,” Fernandez said, “I knew that day was coming. I felt all of my friend were gone, anyway, and I didn’t feel close to anybody.

“It’s funny, but I had heard a lot of nice things about San Diego, and I said to one of my coaches one day, ‘You know what a good city would be for me to play in one day? San Diego.’

“But he said to me, ‘They’ve already got a good shortstop (Garry Templeton) there.’ I said, ‘Oh, I guess I’ll have to wait a couple of years then.’

“God answered my prayers, but I didn’t know he’d move so quickly.”

Why, with McGriff being able to hit in the cozy confines of Jack Murphy Stadium, and Fernandez playing on grass to aid his sore right knee, they say it’s almost as if they have found Utopia. Well, except for one tiny blemish, of course.

“We’ve heard a lot of things about Yuma,” McGriff said. “It seems like everyone has stories about the place.

“Oh, well, it’s only for about a month, right?”