PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Management Misses the Call, So Rosenberg Taken for a Ride

Padre reliever Steve Rosenberg sat in front of his locker Friday afternoon, not sure if he wanted to cry or laugh. What was this? Candid Camera? Surely, this couldn’t be happening.

In a matter of about 14 hours, Rosenberg was told in Las Vegas that he was going to the big leagues, flew to Los Angeles to join the Padres, had his wife fly to San Diego to hunt for an apartment, showed up at Dodger Stadium, suited up and was told--minutes before game time--that he would be going back to the minors.

What?

Rosenberg was notified by Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, before the game that the team had erred in calling him up to the big leagues in the first place. Major league rules require that a pitcher optioned to the minors must remain for 10 days before being recalled. Rosenberg had been with the Las Vegas Stars only a week, and wasn’t eligible to pitch in a big-league game until Wednesday.

“I forgave him,” Rosenberg said. “I said, ‘Hey, the next time I hang a slider up there, just don’t yell at me. Then, we’ll be even.’

“Well, I guess I’ll at least get some frequent-flier points out of this, huh?”

The Padres, naturally embarrassed by their oversight, attempted to cover up the situation until Rosenberg was detected packing his duffel bag in the clubhouse. In fact, when Padre Manager Greg Riddoch was asked in his post-game press conference why Rosenberg was not used, he never hinted that Rosenberg was ineligible.

“It’s pretty tough to throw him in there in a situation like that,” Riddoch said. “Another thing is that they were bringing right-handed hitters off their bench.”

Oh.

Said McIlvaine: “It was an oversight. Fortunately, it was discovered.”

If not, and had Rosenberg appeared in the game, the Dodgers certainly would have filed a protest and asked for the game to be replayed, Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda said.

“I don’t know what the ruling would have been,” Lasorda said, “but we would have asked for one.”

Instead, the Padres now will purchase the contract of left-handed reliever Pat Clements, who was a non-roster player. McIlvaine said the Padres had a choice of three pitchers to call up: Terry Gilmore, who gave up nine hits and six runs in three innings in Las Vegas’ opener against Edmonton; reliever Tim Scott, a former Dodger pitcher, or Clements.

“We’ll go with Clements for now,” McIlvaine said. “But I don’t know what we’ll end up doing. We may want to go back to 10 pitchers, I don’t know.”

Padre reliever Larry Andersen will use the anti-inflammatory drug Medrol-pak to help the strained neck that has afflicted him since opening day.

Andersen was warned by Padre trainers of the drug’s possibly dangerous side-effects, and he was told that the drug might have contributed to Bo Jackson’s arthritic hip.

The Padres left the decision to Andersen.

“They told me about the dangers,” Andrsen said. “If I was 22 years old, I’d hold off. But not at my age. It’s not like I have to worry about the rest of my career.”

Considering that Andersen, 37, signed a two-year, $4.35-million contract as a free agent in January, it might not be what the Padres would like to hear. Yet, with the Padres’ beleaguered bullpen, they know that a healthy Andersen is a necessity.

“If nothing else,” Andersen said, “I just want to go out there and give some guys a rest. I want to pitch a few innings, and carry my share of the load.”

Padre second baseman Marty Barrett still was being kidded about his dramatic three-run homer in the ninth inning Thursday.

“I told Marty, ‘Just think, if you had played your whole career with the Padres, you’d have Nate Colbert’s home-run record by now.’ ” teammate Bruce Hurst said. “You know, if that ball was hit at Fenway, it would have only been a single.”

Giant outfielder Kevin Mitchell didn’t apologize for starting the bench-clearing incident Wednesday night, and Hurst said he never expected him to. But the pitcher still was raving about Mitchell’s power Friday morning. “I never pitched against (Mickey) Mantle or (Willie) Mays,” Hurst said, “but I can’t believe they’d be swinging any better. Everything we threw low, that guy would hit out.” Mitchell hit one changeup and two breaking balls for home runs in his three games against the Padres.

The Padres altered their lineup for the first time this season, starting Darrin Jackson in center field instead of Shawn Abner. Jackson went one for three with a sacrifice fly. . . . Riddoch said to expect Garry Templeton to make his major league debut at third base this weekend. . . . The Padres continue to lead the major leagues in hitting with a .324 batting average. Jerald Clark went three for three Friday, raising his batting average to .538. . . . If not for third baseman Jim Presley’s 0-for-4, it would have been the third time in four games that everyone in the lineup got at least one hit. . . . Padre left-hander Eric Nolte makes his second start since 1987 when he faces the Dodgers at 7:05 p.m. today. He opposes Kevin Gross.