NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : PADRES UPDATE : Padres Losing Patience with Abner

This has been the chance that Shawn Abner has been awaiting since he arrived to the Padres. He was given the starting center field job, and no matter how he fared, he’d be back in the lineup the next day.

Now, however, the Padres’ patience is waning again. He was benched Sunday, and Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said that it’s possible Abner could be benched for a couple of more days.

When you’re hitless in your past 22 at-bats, mired in a .061 (two-for-31) slump, and are batting .197 for the season, there’s little room for complaints.

“I’m so frustrated,” Abner said, “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m doing everything wrong. If I had a gun after Saturday’s game, I would have just opened fire on everybody.”

Abner opened the season batting .346 in the Padres’ first 10 games, but now has watched his average plummet almost daily.

“I think I’ve just been trying too hard,” Abner said. “I mean, I’ve been working my butt off. Maybe I’m pressing, I don’t know. I still have confidence in myself, but nothing’s going right.

“It’s got to be better, doesn’t it?”

The Padres still are pondering the future of Padre starter Eric Nolte, 3-1, 9.78 ERA, who has lasted a total of 1 2/3 innings in his past two starts, yielding 10 hits and 11 earned runs.

The Padres do not have an options left on Nolte, meaning that if they send him to triple-A Las Vegas, any team has the right to claim him on waivers for $20,000. Yet, it appears, the Padres might be willing to take that chance.

“It’s a situation where he either starts for us, or he’s not here (in the big-leagues),” Riddoch said. “The bullpen isn’t an alternative at this time.”

The most troubling sign is that no one really has any answers for Nolte. It’s not as if a single pitch is hurting him. Or he’s wild with his control.

“I think what it is,” Nolte said, “is that I’m putting too much pressure on myself. I don’t know why, either. I can’t explain it. But it’s like I’m not giving myself a chance.

“I don’t know, maybe an outing like (Saturday) will wake me up.”

The Padres’ decision concerning Nolte might hinge on Greg Harris’ status. Harris, who is on the disabled list with elbow tendinitis, is eligible to return Wednesday. Yet, Riddoch said, Harris likely will remain on the disabled list until he’s ready to start, which is expected to be Saturday against the Montreal Expos.

When Harris returns, the Padres then will have to decide among Nolte, Derek Lilliquist and Steve Rosenberg to send to Las Vegas. Also, starting pitcher Dennis Rasmussen is expected to make only one more start at Las Vegas before he’s ready to return.