New Faces Can’t Help the Padres

SAN DIEGO — If it were a spring-training game Saturday night, the fans would have protested, demanded their money back and accused the Padre management of not playing enough regulars.

If they really wanted to see the likes of Kevin Ward, Scott Coolbaugh, Thomas Howard and Adam Peterson in the starting lineup, they would have simply hiked up to Las Vegas two days ago.

They could have paid much less than $11 a ticket at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium--and skipped the Padres’ 5-1 loss to Montreal, their fourth consecutive defeat.

Pardon the inconvenience, Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager said, but this certainly wasn’t in the team’s plans, either. But get used to the idea. Although no one will mistake them for Kevin Mitchell, Matt Williams or Willie McGee, these are the kids the Padres will play, while center fielder Shawn Abner and third baseman Jim Presley will sit the bench.

In front of 24,062 Saturday, the Padres, who have lost a league-high nine games at home, dropped to 15-15 and into a tie for third in the National League West. The bright side? They’re only one game out of first place.

“It’s really unbelievable, isn’t it,” said Tony Gwynn, Padre right fielder. “Every team in the division is treading water. The Giants (10-19) have got to think they’re pretty lucky where they are.”

Adam Peterson, making his first National League start, lasted only 5 1/3 innings Saturday, yielding five hits, nine baserunners and five runs (one earned) before being removed.

The Padres’ disabled list also grew, with infielder Marty Barrett becoming the latest casualty. A magnetic resonance imaging test revealed Saturday that not only does he have torn meniscus cartilage in his right knee, but he also has a torn anterior cruciate ligament that occurred in the past two years.

Barrett will undergo arthroscopic surgery today for the torn cartilage, which will sideline him for a minimum of two weeks, and perhaps much longer. Although Dr. Jan Fronek, who examined Barrett, stopped short of saying that the injury is career-threatening, the implications were obvious.

Barrett suffered the injury May 7 when Phillie first baseman John Kruk slid into second base. It’s the same knee that he injured two years ago with the Boston Red Sox, requiring an operation that resulted in 55 missed games.

Although the Padres didn’t exactly empty their pocketbooks for free agents in the offseason, Barrett’s injury might leave them hesitant about even considering free agents next winter.

Of the Padres’ four free agents that were signed before the start of the season, Barrett and Larry Andersen (bulging disc in his neck) are on the disabled list; outfielder Mike Aldrete (zero for 15) was released; and third baseman Jim Presley (.132) has been relegated to the bench.

The eight players on the disabled list at one time, McIlvaine said, is one shy of the National League record.

Instead of writing out a lineup each day, Padre Manager Greg Riddoch finds himself filling out medical reports, with the latest reading like this:

- Reliever Larry Andersen, who’s on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his neck, said he will have another magnetic resonance imaging test performed this week, and also will seek a second medical opinion from Dr. Arthur White of San Francisco.

“They’re telling me that 90% of the time it usually gets better with rest,” Andersen said. “My question is, if it’s a ruptured disc, will rest take care of it. I’ll stay away from surgery, but what I might do is have an epidural steroid. I’ll just have it without the baby.

“I’ve talked to Joe (McIlvaine) about it, and he basically said, ‘Hey, we’ll stick our neck out for you.’ ”

- Reliever Pat Clements, who’s on the disabled list with tendinitis in his left shoulder, is expected to pitch on the side today.

- Starter Greg Harris, who’s on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right elbow, played catch Saturday and is hopeful of pitching on the side Wednesday.

But while the Padres continue to have their injury woes, they also have yet to find a solution of keeping the ball in the ballpark. The Padres once again were burned by the home run when Expo center fielder Marquis Grissom hit a three-run homer off Peterson in the third inning. It was their 33rd homer surrendered this season, the most in the major leagues.

“When you make pitches like that,” Peterson said, “they’re going to hit them hard.”

The Padres never even came close to recovering. They got seven hits all game off Expo starter Dennis Martinez (5-2), and Howard was the only baserunner besides first baseman Fred McGriff to reach second. The Padres shudder how their offense would look without McGriff (.364), who produced their only run in the seventh inning with his eighth homer of the year, and his sixth in the past nine games. They have six position players who are hitting less than .210 while their team batting average is hovering at .245.

“This is not the time to hit the panic button like a lot of people expect us to do,” Gwynn said. “I don’t think you can use that (the abundant disabled list) for not playing well. We just got to keep going out there.

“What are you going to do?”