PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Rasmussen Says He Wants Recall

Pitcher Dennis Rasmussen sits in his hotel room in Tacoma, Wash., hoping the phone will ring with the news that’ll provide him a one-way ticket out of town.

He is scheduled to make his fourth start for triple-A Las Vegas on Monday night, but the way he feels, the way he has been throwing, he’s ready to bypass that start for San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on Tuesday night against the New York Mets.

“I think it’s time for me,” Rasmussen said, “and I’m ready to go. I feel good. I’m proven. And I’m healthy.

“I want to get up there now and help them.”

Rasmussen, who was sent to Las Vegas on a rehabilitation assignment because of tendinitis in his left shoulder, is badly needed. Entering Saturday’s game, the last Padre starter other than Ed Whitson and Bruce Hurst--their Nos. 1 and 2 starters--to win a game was Eric Nolte on April 23.

But Nolte, who has lasted only 1 2/3 innings in his past two starts, has been shoved out of the starting rotation. Greg Harris won one game before going on the disabled list. His replacement, Derek Lilliquist, has come and gone, losing his two starts. And Andy Benes is winless in his six starts.

“It’s been tough watching what’s been going on,” Rasmussen said. “I always felt it was my spot (No. 5), and I felt all along if I wasn’t injured, I’d be pitching in the rotation.

“It hasn’t been too bad down here. You understand what the guys go through in the minors, taking 3 1/2-hour bus rides. And it’s been a good time to catch up with my Pacific Northwest scenery.

“But I’ve had enough, and I’m ready to return.”

The Padres still are undecided whom to start Tuesday and have pared down their options to Rasmussen (0-2, 4.91 ERA), Las Vegas pitcher Jose Melendez (5-0, 4.43 ERA) or one of their relievers. The Padres’ eight players on the disabled list already represent the second-highest total since their 1984 championship team, surpassed only by their 1987 team, which had 10 players on the DL and finished 65-97.

The M*A*S*H* unit of that season:

Catcher Bruce Bochy, infielders Steve Garvey and Tim Flannery, outfielders Stanley Jefferson and Marvell Wynne and pitchers Greg Booker, Goose Gossage, Tom Gorman, Storm Davis and Andy Hawkins.

Their past disabled lists: 1990 (three players); 1989 (six players); 1988 (three players); 1986 (three players); 1985 (two players). The ex-Padre Player of the Week award goes to second baseman Roberto Alomar of the Toronto Blue Jays. Alomar hit .363 for the week with three homers, two triples, one double and three stolen bases. Alomar has four homers for the season, equalling the entire total of the Padre outfield.

Said Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston: “He has good hands around the base. He’s as smart a baserunner as I’ver seen. And he plays the game aggressively.

“Really, he’s reminiscent of Joe Morgan, except Little Joe had a lot more juice.” Ex-Padres around baseball: Pitcher Andy Hawkins, released this past week from the Yankees, offers this assessment for his demise: “I know where it all went wrong. It was when George (Steinbrenner) fired Dallas (Green). It started a trend. I was Dallas’ guy. I gave him the innings, and he gave me the ball. I feel somewhere in this body is still a damn good pitcher.”

Hawkins might have a point. He was 13-9 with the Yankees when Green was fired Aug. 18, 1989, and since was 7-7 with a 6.18 ERA. He became the fifth player the Yankees are paying this season who is no longer with the team, joining Claudell Washington ($875,000), Rick Cerone ($650,000), Dave LaPoint ($900,000) and Steve Balboni ($1.1 million).

Giant outfielder Kevin Mitchell, upon reading erroneous trade rumors that he was going to Kansas City: “In the event of a trade, the only place I’d be going is home. I’ll take (myself) home and play in a softball league. I’m just not going. I’m tired of being shifted around like some puppet.” Considering the rate at which the Padres are drawing players from their triple-A Las Vegas team, it might be wise to keep a close look at those who are faring well in these days at their top two levels in their minor-league system:

Outfielders: Oscar Azocar, Las Vegas, .281, 7 RBIs; Charles Hillemann, Wichita, .326, 5 homers, 23 RBIs; Brian Cisarik, Wichita, .314, 12 RBIs.

Infielders: First beaseman Kevin Higgins, Las Vegas, .326, 5 RBIs; second baseman Jose Mota, Las Vegas, .309, 1 homer, 12 RBIs; shortstop Craig Shipley, Las Vegas, .304, 1 homer, 11 RBIs; first baseman Dave Staton, Las Vegas, .316, 3 homers, 20 RBIs; first baseman Guillermo Velasquez, Wichita, .295, 4 homers, 17 RBIs; shortstop Jose Valentin, Wichita, .284, 3 homers, 13 RBIs.

Catchers: Brian Dorsett, Las Vegas, .253, 6 homers, 15 RBIs; Dann Bilardello, Las Vegas, .429, 1 homers, 7 RBIs; Dan Walters, Las Vegas, .417, 7 RBIs; Mike Basso, Wichita, .276, 2 homers, 10 RBIs.

Pitchers: Jose Melendez, Las Vegas, 5-0, 4.43 ERA; Tim Scott, Las Vegas, 3-0, 3.48 ERA; Brian Wood, Las Vegas, 4-2, 2.30 ERA (stats from Wichita); Darrin Reichle, Wichita, 2-0, 3.21 ERA; A.J. Sager, Wichita, 3-1, 3.11 ERA.