PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Gwynn’s Frustration Surfaces After Struggle Against Harnisch

It was as rare a sight as, well, Tony Gwynn striking out.

The Padre right fielder, whose hitless skein against Houston Astro pitcher Pete Harnisch was extended to nine at-bats Friday night, was the first player dressed and already on his way out the door when reporters entered the clubhouse.

When asked if he had time to talk, the always courteous Gwynn declined, much to everyone’s astonishment.

“Sorry about that,” Gwynn said before Saturday’s game, “but those were the worst four at-bats of my life. I had to get out of Dodge because I was ready to start breaking stuff.”

Gwynn, who was in a four-for-20 slump before getting three hits Saturday, has been disgusted with his performance of late.

“Right now, it’s not the pitchers, we’re just getting ourselves out, myself included,” Gwynn said. “That’s the frustrating part. I’ve never had four at-bats that bad. I didn’t swing at a strike all night.

“I looked at every strike, and swung at every ball. That’s what really tees you off.

“If you keep chasing bad pitches, you’re not going to hit worth a nickel, and that’s what’s happening to us.

“I can’t believe it’s going to keep continuing like this.”

Although there’s continuing speculation that the owners will reopen the Basic Agreement this winter because of escalating salaries, there’s little chance of the owners following through on their threat, one high-ranking owner said this week.

“There’s been a lot of talk, sure,” said the powerful owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. “But with two expansion teams coming in, and TV money for another year, it doesn’t make any sense. It makes no sense at all.”

“Believe me, we are not re-opening.”

The ex-Padre Player of the Week award goes to Cleveland Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., who had his finest week in two years.

Alomar, who failed to hit a home run and drove in only seven runs last year in an injury-plagued season, virtually exceeded those totals in Friday’s game against the New York Yankees. Alomar went four for five with two doubles, one homers and three RBIs. He drove in four runs for the week, equalling his entire first half last season.

Alomar will be remembered as being part of the worst week in Padre history during the 1989 winter meetings. In a span of a week, they failed to sign Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis, let outfielder Shane Mack and third baseman Dave Hollins escape in the Rule 5 Draft and traded away Alomar, infielder Carlos Baerga and left fielder Chris James.

Around the basepaths: Seattle Mariners outfielder Kevin Mitchell still is looking for his first homer. In fact, Billy Swift of the Giants, one of three pitchers traded for Mitchell, has as many doubles (three) as Mitchell. “It’s the worst start I’ve ever gotten off to,” he said. “I’ve never seen so many breaking balls. I’ve only seen one fastball for a strike.” Welcome to the American League. . . . St Louis Cardinals trainer Gene Gieselmann on the abundance of players going on the disabled list this season, including eight in St. Louis: “We have three leagues now: the NL, AL and DL.” . . . Who’d ever have thought that Minnesota Twins pitcher Bill Krueger would have two more victories than the combined total of Jose Rijo of Cincinnati, Bret Saberhagen of the New York Mets and Bruce Hurst of the Padres--each still looking for his first victory after three starts. . . . Cleveland Indians Manager Mike Hargrove on the changing attitude with his team: “Every year there would be five or six guys who would do nothing but complain. It’s cold, we’re on the lake, there’s no fans, there’s no front-office support. They wanted out. We got sick of their whining. They weren’t winners when they were here, and they weren’t winners when they left.”

You think the Padres hate to see Pete Harnisch? How about when Cleveland sees Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens? Clemens owns a 16-2 record against Cleveland, with six shutouts, and has struck out 10 or more batters in nine games. . . . Oakland pitcher Rick Honeycutt, who had thrown one wild pitch in his past 105 games, had two in three pitches on Tuesday against Kansas City. . . . What kind of effect has the loss of first baseman Kent Hrbek had on the rest of the Minnesota Twins’ lineup? Designated hitter Chili Davis still doesn’t have a home run, and he got his first RBI Saturday. . . . What is it about the Red Sox’s high-priced free agent pitchers who make their debut in Fenway Park? In 1977, reliever Bill Campbell gave up a homer to Buddy Bell in the ninth inning, and a double in the 10th to lose. In 1988, Red Sox reliever Lee Smith gave up a 10th inning homer to Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell in the 10th inning. Last year, Red Sox starter Danny Darwin gave up six runs in five innings in his first start. And this week, Frank Viola surrendered six runs and eight hits in three innings.