PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Rumors of Riddoch’s Firing Continue to Swamp the Padres

Although the Padre front-office continues to publicly praise Manager Greg Riddoch for his efforts, they still find themselves fending off rumors of his firing.

The latest occurred Friday night when TBS reported Riddoch’s firing was imminent and that his replacement would be Buck Rodgers.

“There’s no truth to it at all,” Padre President Dick Freeman said.

If anything, these reports are becoming amusing, particularly to Rodgers, who was fired two weeks ago by the Montreal Expos.

“I’ve heard the same rumors,” Rodgers said from his Yorba Linda, home. “But there’s nothing to it. Believe me, I haven’t talked to anybody.

“I’m sure there’s going to be rumors all season. I’ll be the one rumored in the West, and in the East it will be Don Zimmer or Davey Johnson.”

Riddoch, who’s the lowest-paid manager in the major leagues, earning $160,000, has not only been told by Joe McIlvaine, general manager, that he will manage the rest of the season, but he has a clause in his contract virtually guaranteeing him the same.

There’s a stipulation built in his contract, according to a front-office source, that guarantees Riddoch’s employment the entire season. Although he could be removed as manager, he still must remain on the Padre coaching staff for the entire season. This was done to provide Riddoch with a full year on the major league pension program, giving him five years of service, and raising him to the upper bracket.

Riddoch never has commented on the agreement, but confirmed that there’s a unique clause hidden in his contract.

Although the Padres are trying to be money-conscious like every other team, they now have eaten $1.55 million in contracts for players they’ve released since the final week of spring training:

Pitcher Wes Gardner: $575,000.

Third baseman Jim Presley: $500,000.

Outfielder Mike Aldrete: $250,000.

Pitcher Calvin Schiraldi: $125,000 (one-sixth of $750,000).

Second baseman Marty Barrett: $100,000.

The Padres announced the signing Friday of Greg (Pepper) Anthony, considered among the top 10 high school pitchers in the country.

Anthony, the Padres’ No. 2 pick obtained in compensation for losing free-agent Jack Clark, was 8-1 with a 0.61 ERA in nine starts for Tavares High School in St. Petersburg, Fla. Anthony, 6-foot-3, 196 pounds, yielded 17 hits in 56 innings, striking out 96.

Anthony, 19, was among 33 players signed by the Padres in the draft. The Padres have signed 11 of their top 14 selections, and 15 of the first 21. They have yet, however, to sign No. 1 pick Joey Hamilton of Georgia Southern.

The Padres drafted 58 players overall, including 24 pitchers, seven catchers, 13 infielders and 14 outfielders. They include 23 high school players, 18 junior college players and 17 from four-year colleges.

Catcher Sean Mulligan, the Padres’ No. 4 pick out of the University of Illinois, arrived in San Diego and took batting practice Friday with the Padres, hitting a home run into the left-field seats. Mulligan, 21, batted .378 for Illinois, and will be assigned to Charleston of the Class A South Atlantic League. Also going to Charleston is second baseman Billy Hall, the Padres’ No. 17 pick out of Wichita State.

Among the Padres’ draft picks were outfielder Ricky Nash of Princeton and second baseman Joey Frias of Oklahoma City University.

Nash is the son of Cotton Nash, who played in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, and professional basketball with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kentucky Colonels. Frias is the nephew of Pepe Frias, an infielder with the Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.

The Padres drafted nine players out of California, but none out of the San Diego area.