PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Cole Enjoys Days with the Pirates, Has McKeon to Thank for Trade

It was the day Jack McKeon announced Greg Riddoch would become the Padres’ manager so that he could focus his attention on being general manager.

When the press conference ended July 11, 1990, McKeon went to his office and made a trade.

He sent minor league outfielder Alex Cole to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Tom Lampkin.

“I still wonder what would have happened if that trade never would have happened,” Cole said. “I wonder if I’d be their center fielder today. It would have been interesting.”

Cole went on to bat .300 for the Indians, and finished with a rookie record 40 steals in only 63 games. He battled injuries most of 1991, but still batted .295.

He never got untracked this season, batting .206 when he got called into Manager Mike Hargrove’s office July 3. Cole hurriedly showered and dressed, with only one thing on his mind.

“I had already heard the rumors,” Cole said, “so I was hoping they’d be true. I was praying I was being traded to Pittsburgh.

“When they told me, it was tough to restrain from jumping up and hitting my head on the ceiling.”

The Pirates wound up acquiring Cole for two minor leaguers, and they’ve been blessed since.

Cole, who platoons in the leadoff spot, playing only against right-handers, is hitting .306 with 16 runs scored in his 31 games since joining the Pirates. He has scored a run in 16 of his 22 starts, and is batting .351 in his last 10 starts.

“I can’t believe what a great feeling it is to be here,” Cole said, “going from a last place to a first-place team. People ask me, ‘Yeah, but isn’t Cleveland a rebuilding team?’

“Hey, believe me, they’re a long ways away from rebuilding.

“Who knows, maybe everything worked out for the best, after all.”

Padre starter Andy Benes sustained a strained tendon on the middle finger of his pitching hand before his last start Tuesday, and his finger remains badly swollen.

Benes, who will be unable to pitch on the side before his scheduled start Sunday against the New York Mets, said there will be no problem making the start.

Benes said he first was injured two months ago while taking batting practice, and aggravated the injury Tuesday when he hit a ball off the end of his bat.

“Hopefully, it will be all right,” said Benes, who turned 25 Thursday. “I don’t think it will affect me not pitching between starts. The way I’ve been going, maybe it will help.”

Just why was John Barr, Padre assistant general manager, being swarmed by autograph seekers while in the stands during Thursday’s game?

The fans were interested in the blonde woman sitting next to him--Goldie Hawn, who was in town to see her mother.

Barr met Hawn at a Pittsburgh restaurant and invited Hawn and her daughter to the game. They arrived incognito, particularly after Barr provided Hawn with a Padre cap, which she wore the entire game. By the time she left, virtually everyone knew she was there.

“She was really a nice, sincere person,” Barr said, “and a baseball fan too. I mean, her daughter really knew the game. It was a lot of fun.”

The Padres will wait until today or Friday to announce that starter Greg Harris will be activated and rookie Frank Seminara will be optioned to Las Vegas.

Harris, who has undergone three starts on a rehabilitative assignment, is scheduled to start Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. Seminara is expected to continue starting for Las Vegas through the triple-A playoffs before returning to the Padres.

Pirate outfielder Barry Bonds wants his bat back.

Bonds, who gave Padre third baseman Gary Sheffield his bat for a souvenir the last time the Padres were in town, has watched Sheffield use the bat for a good-luck charm. Every day the Padres are home, Sheffield picks up Bonds’ bat, and swings it.

“Look what’s happened since,” Bonds said, complaining in jest. “The guy’s going for a triple crown. I gave him the wrong bat. The one I kept is jinxed.

“Tell him I want him back.”

Said Sheffield, laughing: “Sorry, he’s not getting it.”

The Padres are off today and will open an eight-game home stand Saturday against the New York Mets.

Padre starter Bruce Hurst, scheduled Saturday, will be bidding to shut out the Mets for the fourth time this season. Hurst has not allowed a run to the Mets in 30 consecutive innings, dating to last season.

The scheduled pitching matchups: Hurst (12-7) against Pete Schourek (3-5) at 7:05 p.m. Saturday; and Benes (9-11) against David Cone (13-6) at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.