PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK : Harris Has Few Well-Wishers Among Ex-Seattle Teammates

Pitcher Gene Harris isn’t asking for any favors. He isn’t demanding that he be in the starting rotation or be the bullpen stopper. He just wants a role.

“I’m easy to get along with,” said Harris, who joined the Padres Wednesday night, “but I want to know my role. If possible, I’d like to be a starter. That’s perfect.

“I really think I can help this team.”

That is debated by his former Seattle Mariner teammates. Although they concede he has a wonderful arm, the fact that he has quit twice in the past year--even lying that he was going to Florida to attend the funeral of his father-in-law--has left the Mariners wishing much less than the best for him.

“We’re better off with without him,” Mariners Manager Bill Plummer said. “We don’t want a quitter on this team. He doesn’t know what he wants, and he’ll probably do the same thing in San Diego.

“What happens if they don’t put him in the role he wants. He wasn’t able to handle any role we put him in, but he already has an excuse. That’s their problem now.”

Harris’ former teammates believe his problems will follow him down the West Coast.

“It’s amazing anyone would want him after what he has done the last two years,” Mariner reliever Mike Schooler said. “I can understand what (Mariners General Manager Woody) Woodward must have been thinking. The best way to solve a problem is to get rid of it.”

Said Dan Warthen, Mariner pitching coach: “I don’t think there are too many people around here that are going to wish him well. He did me wrong. And he did his teammates wrong.”

Harris, who is on the disqualified list and can be activated any time within 30 days, understands their resentment. It hurts, but the criticism might be warranted.

“I was in my own little world over there,” Harris said. “It’s understand how they feel. Things just didn’t work out.

“But that’s over. This is a new start.”

Pitcher Jose Melendez, who lasted only four innings in his first start of the season Tuesday in the Padres’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets, will get at least one more start. He’ll pitch Tuesday against the Mets in San Diego.

The Padres are then expected to decide who’ll remain in the rotation between Melendez and Craig Lefferts, the scheduled starter on Friday against Pittsburgh. They also will debate this weekend whether to recall rookie Frank Seminara from triple-A Las Vegas. It’s possible he might start Wednesday against the Mets.

Melendez will leave the team for several days to be with his ailing grandmother in Puerto Rico.

Second baseman Kurt Stillwell was scratched before the game because of a bruised right wrist. He was hit in the wrist during infield practice Monday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that the wrist became swollen.

“I couldn’t even swing the bat,” Stillwell said. “I hope it’s not too serious. Geez, if it hasn’t been one thing, it’s been another this season.”

Left fielder Jerald Clark was kept out of the lineup. He has a badly swollen knee from his collision Tuesday with third baseman Gary Sheffield, but should play Friday.

“Right now,” Clark said, “I’m just sore all over.”

Met outfielder Bobby Bonilla, who is being booed for the first time this season--batting .133 (eight for 60) at home and failing to hit a homer since opening day--is staying at Shea Stadium until 1 in the morning with batting coach Tom McGraw for extra batting practice.

“I have no problem with that,” Met Manager Jeff Torborg said, “as long as they don’t ask me to stay. But that shows the kind of dedication he has. That’s why I’m not worried.”

Said Bonilla on the booing: “I anticipated it. Of course, going through it is different. But I’m prepared to deal with it.”

Mets outfielder D.J. Dozier, one of three baseball players who spend their autumns in the NFL, said hitting a fastball is much easier than breaking into the secondary.

“It’s a lot easier to be a running back than it is to be a baseball player,” Dozier said. “As a running back, you do what’s natural. You get the ball and let your instinct and abilities take over. In baseball, you might have the ability, but you have to develop certain skills.

“And you don’t always success that often, especially at the plate where three out of 10 is good. I’m used to having more success than that.”

Former Padre trainer Dick Dent is one of the leading candidates to become the trainer for the Colorado Rockies, according to sources. . . . Padre reliever Tim Scott, who made his 1992 major-league debut Tuesday, walked two batters in 1 2/3 innings. It was the first time this season he had walked any batter, allowing none in 14 innings at triple-A Las Vegas. “I don’t know if I was giving them too much respect, or what,” Scott said. . . . Mets outfielder Vince Coleman, who is suffering from a torn muscle in his rib cage, will remain on the disabled list for at least three more weeks. . . . Mets first baseman Eddie Murray, who has 401 homers, needs six more to tie Duke Snider for 23rd on the all-time list.