PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Is San Diego in Bonds’ Future?

If the Padres didn’t get the message before, Pittsburgh Pirate left fielder Barry Bonds made it quite clear Saturday that one day--the sooner the better--he’d like to play for the Padres.

Bonds, the 1990 National League Most Valuable Player, spent most of his time before the game joking with Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn and other Padres, and introduced himself to several others. Perhaps he was getting acquainted with future teammates?

“Hey, there’d be nothing I’d like more,” Bonds said, “than getting traded to the Padres and coming home.”

Bonds, who moved to Rancho, Calif., during the winter, made his wishes public after losing his arbitration case, repeated them during the spring and reiterated them again Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s any secret I want to play for them,” Bonds said. “I love it there. Who wouldn’t?”

If nothing else, acquiring Bonds would alleviate the Padres’ burden of facing him again. Bonds, who hit .301 with 33 homers and 114 RBIs last season, hits the Padres better than any team in the National League. He owns a career .354 batting average against the Padres with 12 homers and 30 RBIs.

But if Bonds is to join the Padres, he likely will have to wait until after the 1992 season when he becomes a free agent. Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, has made a few calls to the Pirates, but he has been inquiring about third baseman/outfielder Bobby Bonilla, who’s a free agent at the end of this season.

“I’ll just wait and see what happens,” Bonds said.

Padre center fielder Bip Roberts, who has been going to Scripps Clinic twice daily for rehabilitation on his lower back, says that the treatment has made a drastic improvement in his back.

“I feel great, they’ve been doing a great job on me,” Roberts said. “I’ll be back with the guys Tuesday. I can’t wait. This has been tough to take.”

It’s believed that Roberts sustained the injury while diving for a catch in the Astrodome, but Roberts can not be sure when it happened.

“I think I just jarred something loose,” he said. “The way I play, anything can happen. But I’m going to be fine.”

Thoughts raced through Padre Manager Greg Riddoch’s mind on the flight to Pittsburgh, but to be honest, he said, there were no feelings of sentiment.

It was 11 months ago at this time that Riddoch was selected as manager of the Padres, beginning his managerial career in Pittsburgh after the All-Star break.

“I told (bench coach) Jim Snyder, ‘This is the beginning, this is where it all began,’ ” Riddoch said. “I’m not really nostalgic about it, though, just because so much has changed. It’s not like a highlight or anything.”

The ex-Padre player of the week, for the second time this season, goes to Angel outfielder Dave Winfield. The man who left the Padres as a free agent after the 1980 season, batted .391 for the week with three homers and 12 RBIs.

The production by Winfield typifies the talent the Padres have let escape, bringing so little in return.

Beginning with the departure of Winfield, All-Star shortstop Ozzie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals, All-Star shortstop Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox, All-Star outfielder Kevin McReynolds of the New York Mets, pitchers Mark Davis and Storm Davis of the Kansas City Royals have all been traded or lost to free agency.

What do the Padres have to show for them?

Outfielder Shawn Abner and second baseman Tim Teufel.

Pitcher Robbie Beckett, the Padres’ No. 1 pick in the 1990 draft, appears to be untracked, and is beginning to dominate the South Atlantic League. He allowed two hits and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings in his last outing against Greensboro, and has pitched well in four consecutive starts.

After opening his season with an 0-2 record and 12.34 ERA, allowing 15 hits and 16 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings, Beckett is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA, allowing 22 hits and 14 earned runs in 35 1/3 innings, striking out 36 and walking 33.

Left fielder Jerald Clark continues to make steady improvement in batting practice, and took early outfield practice Saturday. He probably will be back in the starting lineup next week. . . . Phil Stephenson, an alumnus of Wichita State, walked into the Padre clubhouse dejected over the Shockers’ defeat in the finals of the College World Series, but it hardly stopped his teammates from kidding him. “Hey, what are friends for,” Stephenson said.