PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Teammates Say Myers Must Perform to Bring Home a Division Title

Randy Myers might be the man Padre fans love to hate. He might make Benito Santiago look like a crowd favorite.

The Padres will tell you Myers is the key to their hopes for winning the National League West title.

“I don’t want to be putting pressure on him,” Padre first baseman Fred McGriff said, “but that’s the key to our second half. If you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to have a stopper. It’s almost impossible to throw complete games in the National League, so a stopper is essential.”

Said Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn: “I totally agree with that. That hits the nail on the head. If the team’s going to be successful, he’s got to pitch like he has. He’s got 15 saves, so he’d done the job more often than not.”

Myers, who was pulled out of the stopper’s role June 2, and did not have a save in June, was put back into the role last week. Although Padre Manager Greg Riddoch did not tell Myers he was the closer, Riddoch reiterated Thursday that Myers will be used strictly in that role.

“We’re going to go with what we got,” Riddoch said. “You got with the guy you traded for.”

Myers saved 15 of 20 opportunities the first half, but had a 5.66 ERA. The Padres are encouraged, however, by the way he pitched the final week before the All-Star break.

“Randy’s definitely got the stuff,” McGriff said, “but his mechanics are just out of whack. Maybe Randy will stumble upon what’s wrong and get his mechanics back. Pitchers are the same as hitters. When my mechanics are bad, I’m lost. That’s what happen to Randy.

“I think you’ll see him come back the second half.

“If he doesn’t, we’re in real trouble.”

Riddoch hasn’t given up on the idea of playing All-Star catcher Benito Santiago in left field twice a week when rookie Dan Walters is behind the plate.

“We’re going to give him the opportunity,” Riddoch said, “and then it’s up to him. We’re definitely going to play the kid (Walters) at least twice each week, though.”

Said Santiago: “I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not playing left. When I’m not catching, I’ll be sitting.”

The biggest surprise of the night was that 30,790 fans showed up for the game. It was one of the largest crowds to see the Padres in Olympic Stadium.

The reason: the Expos had a 10-7 record on their grueling trip before the All-Star break and are in a pennant race.

“A lot of it goes to (Manager) Felipe Alou,” said Richard Griffin, Expo public relations director. “He not only is one of the most popular managers in the history of this franchise, but is the most popular guy on this entire team.”

Besides being considered one of the best managers in the game in his short stint, it doesn’t hurt that Alou is married to a French Canadian woman and lives in Montreal year-round.

“I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been here,” one Padre veteran said. “It’s amazing. We can’t get crowds like that unless we give something away.”

Although Alou is one of only four managers in baseball who does not have a contract in 1993, he is not spending any time worrying about his fate.

“Hey, I left home in the Dominican Republic as a kid with a one-year contract,” Alou said, “that’s all I’ve ever had. I don’t know about a multi-year contract or an extension. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

Said Expo pitcher Dennis Martinez: “It’s exciting to finally be there with somebody who speaks the same language, who you can go in and talk to and over over strategy. All my career I’ve waited for this opportunity. I think it’s wonderful for Latin people and Latin players to be able to relate to someone of their heritage.”