PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Connors Says Padres Got Bargain in Acquiring Seminara from Yanks

Billy Connors, Chicago Cubs pitching coach, grimaced when he heard the news. Some kid by the name of Frank Seminara would be starting Tuesday for the Padres.

Seminara?

The Cubs knew only that he was a right-hander with only two months experience in triple-A and had sketchy scouting reports. How good could he be?

Connors knew better. He remembered when he saw Seminara for the first time, in spring 1990. Connors, then the New York Yankees pitching coach, had stopped to watch the minor-leaguers.

“I walked to the back field, saw this kid throwing,” Connors said, “and said, ‘My God, look at the kid with the great sinker.’ I knew right away he was a New York kid, just looking at him you could see that confidence.

“So I asked someone who he was, and they told me, ‘Frank Seminara.’ I thought to myself, ‘I’ll remember that name.’

“When you see someone like that, you don’t forget him. He just seemed like such a natural. The kid goes off to (Class A) Prince William, goes 16-8 with a 1.90 ERA, and for whatever reason the Yankees don’t protect him.

“My God, what a steal.”

The Padres wound up selecting Seminara in the Rule V draft during the 1990 winter meetings, and after leading the Texas League with a 15-10 record for Wichita last year, he is in the big leagues.

“He’s going to be around for quite awhile,” Connors said. “He’s going to be a good one. You wait and see.”

Third baseman Gary Sheffield, who’s in a one-for-15 slump, conceded after the game that the middle finger on his right hand is giving him much more trouble than he’s admitted.

Sheffield’s finger is badly swollen, the result of a blood vessel that burst a few days ago. He has remained in the starting lineup, but has hit the ball out of the infield only two of the last 19 times.

“I’m confident when I go up there,” Sheffield said, “but something’s missing. I don’t have the bat speed, especially on the inside pitches. This thing just won’t go away.”

If the past few days haven’t been frustrating enough, Cub starter Greg Maddux welcomed him into the league Monday by plucking him with a pitch.

“There was no doubt it was a purpose pitch,” one Padre said.

Cub first baseman Mark Grace on his line drive caroming off Seminara’s elbow: “It was scary. I’m glad he’s OK. I didn’t think I could hit a ball hard enough to hurt anybody.”

Grace, who robbed the Padres of several hits with his defensive play, ended the game on his single into the right-field corner: “It was a long game,” he said. “It was time for everybody to go home.”

What kind of season has it been for Padre left fielder Jerald Clark?

He went two for five Tuesday, marking the first time since May 1 that he has had a multiple-hit game. Alas, it raised his batting average to only .187.

Padre catcher Dan Walters got his first major league hit and RBI in the second inning with a single into left field. “Frank and I had a great time out there today,” Walters said, “I just wish the outcome had been different. It was a good feeling to get that hit, though. I’m seeing the ball pretty good, now I just have to find the comfort zone.” . . . Dave Eiland was impressive in his second rehabilitative start Monday night at triple-A Las Vegas, yielding five hits and two runs in six innings in Las Vegas’ 10-4 victory over Edmonton. . . . The Padres will place general admission tickets on sale at 9 a.m. Thursday for Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Bravces. The Padres are anticipating a large crowd for bag night, and tickets will be sold on a reserved seat basis.

Around the basepaths: The Pittsburgh Pirates, searching for another starting pitcher, are offering second baseman Jose Lind as trade bait. Don’t be surprised if they pull off a deal with the Atlanta Braves, sending Lind to Atlanta for pitcher Pete Smith and other considerations. . . . Montreal Expo Manager Felipe Alou, on trailing 10-0 in a game this week to the Houston Astros: “I was thinking of a game once when we lost 24-5 on get-away day. We get to the airport, and there’s no plane. I went to a bookstore, but there’s not much of a selection. I ended up buying a book on the sexual behavior of elephants. By the time it was 10-0 the other day, I started to look for that book.” . . . For the first time in his illustrious career, Nolan Ryan failed to win a game in April or May, going 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA. . . . When Bill Gullickson pitched a complete game last Tuesday that included no walks or strikeouts, it was the first such game by a Detroit Tiger pitcher since George Zuverink in 1954. . . . Toronto Manager Cito Gaston is still furious over being sucker-punched in the brawl last week with the Milwaukee Brewers. The culprit? Brewer pitching coach Don Rowe, who is 56 years old and has a history of heart problems. “I’d like to get that little weasel some day,” Gaston said. . . . Houston Astro outfielder Pete Incaviglia, who shunned the Montreal Expos when he was drafted in 1985, went three for four in his first game at Olympic Stadium. “You know,” Incaviglia said, “this isn’t a bad place to hit.”