PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Myers Trying to Forget the Lead That Got Away

Bullpen stopper Randy Myers again was among the first to arrive to the Padre clubhouse Saturday afternoon, but this time it was different.

Instead of talking boisteriously, he spoke in almost a whisper. Instead of cracking jokes, he was solemn. It hardly was the Myers his teammates have come to know.

“He was really, really down today,” one Padre said. “These things happen. It wasn’t like he was trying to mess it up for us.”

Myers was the man who turned a potential 5-1 Padres’ victory Friday night into a 16-inning, 5-hour, 7-6 defeat. He blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning.

“It was just one of those nights,” said Myers, who is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA. “It doesn’t matter how good my pitches were, you’re never happy when they hit your pitches. But it’s over now, and I’m going to forget about it.”

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch also consoled him before the game, telling him not to lose confidence in himself, because the Padres certainly haven’t lost confidence in him.

“I told him he’s our man,” Riddoch said. “We’re not going to quit going to him just because of a couple of bad outings. He’ll be fine.”

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the ordeal, Myers said, is that his worst outings occur in games starter Greg Harris pitches. He already has cost Harris two victories this season, and reliever Jose Melendez one victory.

Take a look at the startling contrast:

Appearing in three games that Harris has started, Myers is 1-1 with a 19.64 ERA. He has failed to protect the lead all three times, yielding 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings.

In the other five games not involving Harris, Myers has four saves in four opportunities with a 0.00 ERA. He has allowed only four hits in 9 2/3 innings.

“I don’t know what it is,” Myers said. “Maybe I’m trying too hard because he didn’t have a win yet. I can’t explain it.”

Said Harris, a former reliever: “I know what he’s going through. The biggest question in your mind is whether the starter will have confidence in you the next time you go in. Hey, I hope Randy is the first guy who comes in the next time I pitch.

“I know he can do it; it’s just that this game can get weird at times.”

The marathon game not only left the Padres drowsy when they arrived at the ballpark Saturday but also cost the Padres thousands of dollars.

Their cable TV telecast inadvertently was taken off the air at midnight Friday in many sections of town, leaving fans furious. The game still was tied, 6-6, at the end of 14 innings when the telecast ended.

The Padres had no choice but to refund everyone their money, and apologize for the inconvenience.

In one of the most spirited battles for the highly-coveted ex-Padre Player of the Week award, the nod goes to second baseman Roberto Alomar of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yes, we know teammate Joe Carter had a 16-game hitting streak that snapped Friday. We know John Kruk of Philadelphia entered the day leading the National League with a .426 batting average. And how can you ignore Shane Mack of Minnesota, who is batting .355?

But Alomar batted .586 for the week with 10 RBIs. He had at least two hits in every game but one and drove in at least one run in each of the games.

“When I first saw him,” said Dusty Baker, San Francisco Giant batting coach, “I said he was going to win the batting title in this league. I guess I just had the wrong league.”