PADRE NOTEBOOK / ALAN DROOZ : Benes Gets First Spring Start

At times the happiest and unhappiest camper in spring training, pitcher Andy Benes finally gets down to playing ball when he takes the mound today against the Seattle Mariners.

Benes, whose contract dispute with the team made headlines recently, will make his first official spring start today. He has been slowed by minor abdominal surgery before camp opened.

After a hard workout Friday, Benes said, “I feel good, it’s just a matter of how good shape my arm is. Hopefully I’ll throw three or four (innings), then the next start an inning or two more. It’s based on how many pitches I throw--and if I use ‘em all up in the first inning.”

Benes estimates the surgery set him back about 10 days, but he hopes to take his place in the Padres rotation when they open the season in Cincinnati in April.

“I feel comfortable I can take my place in the rotation,” he said. “There’s still 2 1/2 weeks--if I can get out there two or three more times I should be ready.”

Benes added, however, that he won’t rush things. He’ll be working mostly on form today. “I can’t make up for lost time, but nothing I do (physically) bothers me,” he said.

“I want to make sure to make good pitches. My velocity isn’t what it’ll be in three weeks so they may hit pitches now that will get them out later. I’m excited. It’ll be good to go out there, get to come in between innings and--hopefully--go back out, get back into more of a pitching routine.”

Benes ended last season with a rush, winning 10 of his last 11 decision to go 15-11, after struggling through a puzzling first half that saw him go 4-10 despite some good starts.

“It can turn around in a second. I learned that last year,” he said. “Going into ‘91, I was kind of negative--people saying I hadn’t won. This year it’s a real positive feeling--you can’t pick up where you left off, but it’s a big boost coming into the season.”

The sudden turnaround gave Benes a different outlook on the game. “I hadn’t struggled very much as a pitcher, and that put things in perspective,” he said. “You can really bury yourself when you take it home with you. I grew up a lot, I learned a lot from that. I had to learn that so many things were out of my control, not to dwell on things that happened in the past but to look ahead.”

Ed Whitson returned to camp Friday carrying the results of tests done in Ohio on his right elbow. They showed no ligament or tendon damage, though tendinitis may be causing fluid.

Doctors will determine Whitson’s prognosis this weekend.

Shortstop Tony Fernandez made his first start of the spring Friday and is scheduled to be in the lineup again for today’s game against the Mariners, leading off in both cases.

Manager Greg Riddoch said he tries to build Fernandez’s taste for the leadoff role whenever he can. Among other things, he wants Fernandez to bunt more often.

“He’s a darn good bunter from both sides,” Riddoch said. “He’s potentially a 30 stolen-base guy, he’s an excellent base runner.”

Padre Notes

Left-hander Craig Lefferts, making the transition from reliever to starter, made his strongest bid yet for a spot in the rotation, pitching six innings of two-hit ball Friday to get the victory in a 4-1 decision over Seattle. Lefferts (2-0) has walked one batter in 18 innings. . . . First baseman Fred McGriff was given the night off Friday against Seattle left-hander Randy Johnson, who threw five shutout innings, striking out seven. Catcher Benito Santiago was a late scratch, still unable to play on an injured big toe. Both are scheduled to be in the lineup today against right-hander Erik Hanson. . . . The Padres scored all their runs Friday in the sixth inning off Gene Nelson. The highlight was Darrin Jackson’s three-run home run, his first of the spring. . . . The Padres claimed outfielder Steve Pegues off waivers from Detroit Friday. Pegues, 23, was the Tigers’ second-round pick in the 1987 June draft. He currently is sidelined with a slight separation of the right shoulder. To make room for Pegues on the 40-man roster, the Padres designated infielder Tom Redington, who was optioned Thursday to Wichita.