NOTEBOOK : PADRES UPDATE : Injured Parent Comes Back to See His Old Teammates

Catcher Mark Parent, one of the most popular players in the Padre clubhouse before being traded to the Texas Rangers in the off-season, showed up at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to visit the teammates to whom he never had a chance to say goodbye.

The unfortunate part for Parent, of course, is that while he’s in San Diego, his Ranger teammates are on the road. Parent tore ligaments and suffered severe cartilage in his left knee March 8 when rookie Tony Scruggs crashed into him at home plate in an intrasquad game. Doctors operated, put in three screws, and informed him that the injury was career-threatening.

“I just said, ‘Wow,’ “Parent said. “I didn’t think I could put that much work in to come back. I mean, there are special cases like Bernard King (of the NBA’s Washington Bullets). But I thought, ‘Am I going to work out like he did.’ ”

But here he is, rehabilitating his knee five hours a day, and when the Rangers return April 25 from their trip, he is scheduled to catch in the bullpen. And although doctors say he’ll be out all season, Parent says his goal is to return Aug. 1, and catch one of Nolan Ryan’s games.

“It was strange on Sunday,” he said. “Bobby (Valentine, Ranger manager) said, ‘What’s up, you look so sad.’ I said, ‘Hey, this is Sunday. This was usually my turn to play with the Padres.’

“But I feel sorry for (Tom) Lapkin. With Benny (Santiago) wanting to prove something this year, he’ll never get a chance to play now.”

Reds shortstop Barry Larkin has a sprained right wrist and was pulled out of the staring lineup. Larkin sprained the wrist Sunday when Atlanta catcher Gregg Olson slid into second base. He had a magnetic resonance imaging test performed Monday, which proved negative. He is listed as day-to-day. . . . Padre reliever Larry Andersen, who said that his neck still has yet to improve, decided Monday that he definitely will have a magnetic resonance imaging test performed on his neck. . . . Parent, on Ranger pitcher Ryan: “I’ve never seen a guy that famous, with that much stardom, be so down to earth. It’s like walking up and talking to a farmer.” . . . The Padres were in a particular good mood Monday when they arrived to the ballpark. Their first paychecks of the season were awaiting. . . . A little vengeance, perhaps? The Padre scoreboard notified their fans that Jack Clark went zero for four in Monday’s Boston Red Sox defeat, striking out eight of the past nine times. . . . The Padres’ Andy Benes (0-1) is scheduled to face the Reds’ Norm Charlton (0-1) at 7:35 p.m. today.