PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Rodriguez Does the Right Thing With Mistaken Bonus Money

Padre reliever Rich Rodriguez couldn’t believe his luck. There, included in his last paycheck, was another check for $5,000.

“I thought, ‘Great,’ ” Rodriguez said. “ ‘I wasn’t expecting this.’ But then I started checking around to see if other guys got bonuses, and no one else did.

“That’s when I found out something wasn’t right.”

Rodriguez found out that the $5,000 check was a bonus for being in the major leagues for 90 days, a provision written into his contract. The problem was that he already received the bonus last season.

“It was a mistake,” Rodriguez said. “I had the traveling secretary (Doc Mattei) check into accounting for me, and I found out for sure. There was nothing for me to do but tell (Padre General Manager) Joe McIlvaine about it.”

And what was McIlvaine’s reaction?

“He appreciated the honesty,” Rodriguez said. “I was afraid to tell my wife at first, but she said I did the right thing, too. Man, I sure could have used that $5,000, though.”

There, stuffed in a trash can Saturday in the Padre clubhouse, was a doll handwrapped in a box that read: “You’re looking at a happy camper.”

The culprit?

“I did it,” Padre catcher Benito Santiago said. “Someone sent it to me, and I went oh-for-four. I don’t need that kind of luck.”

Was there any choice?

Phillie third baseman Dave Hollins was the runaway winner of the ex-Padre player of the week with his dazzling performance in which he batted .533 with three homers, two doubles and six RBIs. One of those homers was a grand slam hit Friday against the Padres for the game-winner.

What did the Padres receive in return for Hollins, considering this is the same organization that hasn’t had a bonafide third baseman since Graig Nettles?

They got $50,000, without a single player in return.

Although the Padres had three openings on their 40-man roster, they left Hollins unprotected, allowing the Phillies to claim him.

It be one of the worst blunders in recent Padre history.

During Lenny Dykstra’s absence, the Phillies used five different leadoff men--Von Hayes, Mickey Morandini, Wally Backman, Dickie Thon and Sil Campusano--who combined for a .246 batting average, scoring 30 runs, drawing 18 walks and stealing five bases. The Phillies went 24-37.

“Not to take anything away from the other guys,” Phillie reliever Mitch Williams said, “but he’s our heart.”

Reliever Larry Andersen on Saturday attended a luncheon for the Madres, a women’s support group for the Padres. Somebody had a probing question for him.

“How do I get those sunflower seeds to stick to my face?” Andersen said, laughing.

Well, how does he do it?

“I just pinch the end of them off,” Andersen explained, “and snap them to my face. There’s a little pain there, but it makes all the other pain in my body go away.”

After being dumped by the Cubs at the end of spring training, Philadelphia’s Williams has converted 10 successive save opportunities and 18 of 21 this season.

Dave Smith, who was signed as a free agent to be the Cubs’ closer, has not had a save since June 14 and has been relegated to middle relief.

Since the All-Star break, National League West teams are 20-35 against their counterparts of the East. Here are the standings:

Atlanta Braves, 7-2

San Francisco Giants, 4-5

Padres, 3-6

Houston Astros, 3-6

Dodgers, 2-8

Cincinnati Reds, 1-8

Third baseman Dave Staton of triple-A Las Vegas, who has hit five homers in his last five games against Phoenix, charged the mound Friday night against the Firebirds after a brushback pitch and suffered a broken nose and cuts in his face that required nine stitches. He’s expected to be out at least a week. . . . Perhaps the most remarkable statistic in the National League West this season? Braves third baseman Terry Pendleton, who is hitting .340, has hit seven of his 10 homers and driven in 31 of his 41 RBIs at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium this season. He entered the year having hit a home run at every National League ballpark but one--Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. . . . The Padre bullpen entered Saturday’s game having not allowed an earned run in 15 innings. . . . The Padres have allowed four grand slams this season; they have not hit one. . . . Pitcher Wes Gardner, who was released last month by the Padres, signed a triple-A contract with the Kansas City Royals’ triple-A club in Omaha, Neb. . . . The Padres have changed their Tuesday game time against the Montreal Expos to 7:35 p.m.