Padres’ Opener Is a Hit : Baseball: Hitters get their cuts in as the Padres defeat the Angels, 14-11.

There was the Padre club box, stuffed with 14 of the new owners, yelling and cheering Friday afternoon as if they were in the midst of a pennant race.

There was the Padre bench, high-fiving, low-fiving and acting downright giddy during their offensive onslaught.

There was the Padre coaching staff, nodding, winking and displaying their pleasure with their grins.

Yes sir, everything was going along just great Friday until some wise guy had to mention this was only spring training. And even though the Padres’ 14-11 victory over the Angels was impressive, opening days of exhibition season usually have as much lasting effect as the price of cigarettes.

“The only way I’d get excited about it,” said Merv Rettenmund, Padre hitting coach, “is if someone told me we’d get to hit in a park like this all year.”

This is why Angel pitcher Chuck Finley, who allowed five hits and six runs in two innings, reminded everyone: “I never saw spring-training stats on the back of a bubble-gum card.”

Besides, if it weren’t spring training, Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said, does anyone really think he’d be driving in six runs in only four innings?

“Come on, I’ve never done anything like that before,” Gwynn said. “I’ve never even done it in an entire game.”

Not even in spring training?

“Nope.”

Not even at San Diego State?

“Uh-uh.”

In high school?

“I doubt it.”

But there he was Friday afternoon, going three for three, hitting a monstrous three-run homer over the right-field fence and driving in six runs. Remarkably, it was the first time in two years that Finley allowed a homer to a left-handed hitter.

“I’m not going to sit here and say my quest has begun,” Gwynn said, “but I sure feel good right now. This is as focused as I’ve been for a long time. It’s so nice to be talking and playing baseball again.”

And, yes, Gwynn said, it was quite pleasant, for once, not to hear anyone bring up the name of you-know-who from Boston.

“I got a great feeling about this team, I really do,” said Gwynn, whose .329 career batting average is 12th highest in National League history. “I think the hardest thing about this spring will be remembering all of the owners’ names. I was introduced to an owner the other day, and I just couldn’t remember his name. I was scared to say anything in case it was wrong.

“But, hey, there’s 15 of the guys, how am I going to remember them all?”

Considering the Padres’ revamped lineup, it’s little wonder anyone in the crowd of 4,627 at the Ray Kroc Baseball Complex knew what was going on. This team bore little resemblance to the one they saw a year ago at this time. With the exception of Gwynn in right field and Benito Santiago behind the plate, there were new players--or old players in new positions--at every spot.

“I think everyone feels pretty good about what happened today,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “I mean, when you score 28 runs in 14 innings (including the “B” game), you got to feel good. The thing that was so exciting was watching the top four guys in our lineup.”

Leadoff hitter Bip Roberts, playing second base, went two for two and scored three runs. Shortstop Tony Fernandez went two for three with a double, triple and two RBIs. Gwynn had his six RBIs. And Fred McGriff, although he went hitless in three at-bats, still had the crowd gasping with each swing.

The only disappointing aspect of the Padres’ day focused on the pitching staff. Starter Ed Whitson yielded eight hits and five runs in two innings. And Mike Dunne gave up six hits and five runs in the an inning, before settling down for a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

It hardly was vintage Whitson. This is a guy who has lowered his ERA each of the past four seasons to 2.60 last year.

But on this day, Whitson was getting blasted by nearly every Angel that came to the plate.

“That pitching mound was awful,” Whitson said. “I was the worst I ever saw. There was no clay, all sand. It’s unfit the way it is now. I was slipping so much that the palmball I threw halfway up the screen would have gone over the press box if it was a fastball.

“Hell, why not bring a portable mound out there. The way it is now, it’s a damn sand pit. When you have to start altering your delivery and your windup to compensate for it, that’s when you come up with some sore arms.”

OK, so maybe not everything went absolutely perfect.

But hey, it’s only spring training, right?

Chuck Barry, Whitson’s agent, had a private one-hour meeting Thursday with McIlvaine to discuss possible solutions to resolve Whitson’s contract situation.

Whitson, who is scheduled to earn $1.25 million this season with a $1 million option next year, is the Padres’ eighth highest-paid player and is seeking a contract extension.

“I don’t know, I think it’s a dead issue,” Whitson said. “I’m going to fulfill my contract, but after that . . .”

McIlvaine said: “Everything was amicable. It was a good meeting. We’ll talk again.”

Berry, who drove back to Phoenix, was unavailable for comment.

Pitcher Jeremy Hernandez, who has emerged as one of the biggest surprises in camp, has been so impressive that the Padres have informed him that he now is among the candidates to make the big-league team as a right-handed closer.

Hernandez, 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, who has been dominant while pitching batting practice, did not allow a hit in two innings during the Padres’ 14-2 “B” game victory Friday morning over the Angels.

“Hey, someone better keep an eye on that guy,” Padre second baseman Marty Barrett said. “He’s got some of the nastiest stuff I’ve ever seen.”

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, said: “I’ve got to tell you, I’m impressed with what I’ve seen. That’s why we might experiment here, just see if he can fill the role as a stopper.”

Hernandez, 24, who has been a starter during his four-year minor league career, said that he’s all for the conversion, as long as it’s the quickest route to the big leagues.

“I’ve never tried that role,” Hernandez said, “but they told me that the door is wide-open in the bullpen. So I figure, why not?”

Padre Notes

He wasn’t wearing a Padre uniform. Heck, he didn’t even had a number on his back. But that hardly inhibited minor league first baseman Dave Staton, who calmly walked to the plate in the fifth inning and slammed a three-run homer. Although Staton obviously was thrilled, perhaps no one was happier than the guy sitting in the stands down the left-field line. His name is Marty Staton, Dave’s father. . . . Darrin Jackson, vying for one of the starting outfield jobs, homered for the Padres. He made sure to remind everyone that it was the fourth consecutive game that he’s homered. He now has homered in the last two regular-season games against the Dodgers, Sunday’s intrasquad game and Friday. “Mark it down,” Jackson said, “I’ll make it five straight (today).” And six? “I don’t want to press my luck,” he said.

Garry Templeton handled three chances flawlessly at third base. . . . If the Padres decide to keep three catchers, McIlvaine said, Chris Jelic would be the leading candidate. “If you’re going to have a third catcher,” McIlvaine said, “you want a guy who’s versatile. And Chris can play the infield or the outfield.” He also made quite an impression Friday, getting three hits and two RBIs in the “B” game.” . . . Bip Roberts is one of only three players in baseball who hit .300 and had at least 40 stolen bases and 40 extra-base hits last season. The other two won MVP awards--Barry Bonds of Pittsburgh and Rickey Henderson of Oakland. . . . Dave Winfield of the Angels and Buzzie Bavasi, former Padre executive, will be among those inducted Sunday into the Yuma Spring Training Hall of Fame.

Texas catcher Mark Parent, traded to the Rangers by the Padres in December, tore two knee ligaments Friday in a home plate collision during an intrasquad game and will need surgery.