PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB WOLF : Whitson Given the Go-Ahead to Begin Throwing Off Mound

One of the happiest Padres Thursday was pitcher Ed Whitson, and the smile he wore had nothing to do with the team’s 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Exactly a month after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his elbow, the veteran right-hander got the green light to throw off the mound beginning tonight. He had been restricted to long-tossing since he began his supervised program July 30 in Philadelphia.

“Those are the best words I’ve had in four weeks,” Whitson said. “All the soreness and discoloration are gone, so I was just waiting impatiently. Once I get loose, I’ll throw about 30 fastballs. That will be it for the first time out. Once we see how my arm responds to the fastballs, I’ll work on my curve and slider.

“Naturally, I can’t throw hard at first. The doctor (James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala.) wants me to strengthen my shoulder while I’m strengthening my elbow.

“We’re talking surgery here. I can’t take a chance on blowing my shoulder out.”

The waiting period will be a lot longer for Mark Grant, who spent three seasons with the Padres before being traded to the Braves a year ago.

Grant, who lives in Alpine, has missed the entire season because of a shoulder injury that required surgery May 2. He has given up hope of pitching again before spring training.

“All I can do right now is long-toss,” Grant said Thursday. “It’s coming along, but there isn’t enough time to get back out there this year. I hurt it in the middle of March, and it turned out to be a torn labrum, which is a piece of cartilage in the right shoulder. It still doesn’t feel right.”

Grant doesn’t make all the Braves’ trips, but he said, “I couldn’t miss a chance to go home for four days.”

The Padres will hold their annual old-timers game at 6:05 p.m. today, before the game against the Braves, which has been moved back to 7:35.

Tonight’s exhibition is part of the new Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Series, successor to the series sponsored by Equitable Life. It will match former players named Bob against those named Joe.

A “ringer” among the Upper Deck Bobs is Padre announcer Rick Monday, the catch being that he was christened Robert. Also on the Bob team will be Robert (Buck) Rodgers, former Montreal Expo manager, who is rumored to be line for the California Angels’ job. He lives in Yorba Linda.

Keith Mitchell, who played right field for the Braves Thursday, is a Lincoln High School alumnus and a cousin of San Francisco slugger--and ex-Padre--Kevin Mitchell. . . . Thursday’s game was played in 1 hour 59 minutes, fastest involving the Padres this year. Their old season record was 2:03, set against the Dodgers April 19. . . . Tonight’s regular game will present an interesting pitching matchup. Both starters, Ricky Bones of the Padres and Armando Reynoso of the Braves, pitched two-hit shutout ball in their major-league debuts last Sunday, Bones in seven innings and Reynoso in six.