PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Sheffield Credits Bat From Bonds for His Recent Success at the Plate

Padre third baseman Gary Sheffield finally unveiled the secret Wednesday to his success. It’s not his lightning-quick bat speed, he said. It’s not even his open batting stance.

No, it’s the bat that sits in his locker. The one that never has been used in a game. The one that doesn’t even belong to him.

It’s the bat of Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder Barry Bonds.

“He gave it to me back in May,” Sheffield said, “and right after that I got real hot. I hit a homer (off Bob Walk) the first night he gave it to me, and have been hot ever since.

“So every time I come to the ballpark now, I pick it up and swing it. I even hold it the same way he does, choke up and everything. He’s a great friend, and now I use it as my good-luck charm.”

Sheffield has used it to crank out a career-high 20 homers and career-high 67 RBIs this season. He hit his 20th Tuesday night off John Burkett, although it didn’t travel 468 feet as advertised.

The Padres confessed Wednesday that Sheffield’s homer hit a guy wire between the left-field foul pole and center field seats. They informed IBM officials to scratch Sheffield’s homer as being the longest in the National League this season.

So the Padres dismissed any plans to paint another seat white in the second deck to commemorate an upper deck homer, as they did after Sheffield’s second-deck homer May 25 against Zane Smith of the Pirates.

“What we’re thinking about, though,” joked Roger Riley, Padre assistant public relations director, “is painting the cable white.”

Sheffield also laughed off the great homer controversy, saying: “You can’t question how far it went, but you can’t question that it was a homer. I knew it hit something, because it was bouncing around all over the place.”

Meanwhile, Sheffield quietly earned another $25,000 incentive Monday by playing in his 100th game. Sheffield now has earned $150,000 in incentives this season, the most of any position player in the major leagues.

Sheffield still has the opportunity to earn another $250,000 in incentives this year. He can earn $125,000 if he misses no more than five games the rest of the season, $25,000 by being selected the Comeback Player of the Year, and $100,000 if he wins the National League MVP award.

You think the Padres might be looking for some speed in the off-season?

The Padres entered Wednesday with only two stolen bases in the last 131 innings, spanning 15 games. The Padres went 72 innings between stolen bases before Darrin Jackson stole second base in the second inning Tuesday.

It was the Padres’ first stolen base at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium since before the All-Star break--July 11 against Philadelphia.

The Padres have stolen a base in only nine of their last 42 games, and have a league-low 48 for the season. They’re on a pace to finish with their lowest total since 1985, when they stole 60 bases, and second-lowest since 1970.

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch, who has watched Jim Fregosi of Philadelphia and Bucky Showalter receive contract extensions this past month, is one of only six big-league managers remaining whose contract expires at the end of the season.

The others are Lou Piniella of the Cincinnati Reds, Art Howe of the Houston Astros, Felipe Alou of the Montreal Expos, Hal McRae of the Kansas City Royals and Toby Harrah of the Texas Rangers.

Piniella and Alou are the only managers who are certain to be retained if they so desire.

The Padres, deciding they no longer needed pitcher Mike York, released him from the organization. He had pitched the entire season at triple-A Las Vegas, and was kept primarily for insurance in case of injuries to the Padre rotation.

Although the Padres boast of 27 comeback victories this year, they have not won a game when they’ve trailed after six innings since June 9, when they overcame a 4-0 deficit to beat the Houston Astros.

The Padres are 0-17 since that span when trailing after six innings.

What was so unusual about Sheffield striking out in three consecutive games before Tuesday.

It’s the first time it has happened this season. In fact, Sheffield had not struck out in consecutive games since April 18-19 against Houston.