Padres Are on Target to Double Their Fan Pleasure

The success of the San Diego Padres seems to have answered a pivotal question about the franchise’s long-range viability in a market limited both geographically and demographically.

Given improvements in the team and a program of community outreach under new owner John Moores, the Padres have a chance to double their 1,041,805 attendance of last year, a legacy of the strike and the disruptive ownership of Tom Werner.

The Padres began a weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds at 1.8 million, hope to draw a club record 160,000 for a four-game series against the Dodgers starting Thursday and could top their single-season attendance record of 2,210,352, set in 1985.

The projection for a rebuilding year had been 1.75 million.

“How often has a team produced a 100% increase?” President Larry Lucchino said of the attendance.

“The greatest marketing tool, of course, is a winning team. In addition, we seem to have the right kind of guys and the right mix of guys that fans can relate to and who understand what we’re trying to create in the community.

“We’ve been clicking on all cylinders.”

The Padres still project losses of about $8 million, stemming primarily from payroll additions, but the playoff potential could reduce that.

On a long-range basis, Moores said the club could draw 2.8 million or more in a smaller, downtown stadium.

There have been discussions with the city, but the Padres are taking it slowly, hopeful of bringing it to a head in late winter.

Their lease at Jack Murphy Stadium expires after the 1999 season, and Moores has said he wants to know what the future holds before then, but the Padres have no interest in disrupting the 1996 focus or making it appear they are trying to use the current success as a hammer.

“We pushed the new stadium to a back burner for two reasons,” Lucchino said. “We felt we needed to establish a track record in the community and we’re knee-deep in protecting our interests amid the Chargers’ expansion of the stadium.”

There are plans to increase seating at Jack Murphy by 12,000, to 72,000. The Padres have tried to shroud the size in several ways, but it’s still a football stadium in what has been a football market. The Padres’ turnaround indicates it might be big enough for both.

WHO WANTS ATLANTA?

Even if the Dodgers and Padres were to shake the wild-card aspirations of the Montreal Expos before then, they would still have something to play for in those seven games over the last 10 days. The division winner gets either St. Louis or Houston. The wild card draws Atlanta. The Padres are 4-9 against the Braves, 4-8 against the Cardinals and 6-6 against the Astros.

“I’d much rather go in on a positive note as the division winner,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “I’m not foolish, I’d be happy to be there either way, but you work hard all season to win. I’m sure L.A. feels the same way.”

The Braves have better statistics in virtually every category than the World Series winner of last year did at a similar stage but they have blown 7 1/2 games off their 12-game division lead of Aug. 29 by losing six in a row and 12 of 17. They are 5-7 against the Dodgers this year and not enamored of the possibility of that matchup in a five-game opening round.

“We don’t fear anybody, but in a short series you would rather not play a team with a lot of pitching like the Dodgers,” Tom Glavine said. “If the first two guys come out and throw great games you could be down 2-0.”

THE ENVELOPES, PLEASE

The final MVP showdown between Mike Piazza and San Diego third baseman Ken Caminiti can’t be decided on numbers alone. Gold Glove winner Caminiti has meant as much to the Padres in the field as at bat.

“In the first month alone he saved as many games as any closer in the league,” Padre batting coach Merv Rettenmund said. “I mean, I’ve never seen a better third baseman, including Brooks [Robinson]. Brooks couldn’t throw or move with him.”

A nod to Todd: As a member of the NL’s rookie-of-the-year committee, Todd Hollandsworth’s stand-up performance in the second half, critical to Dodger success, should earn him the honor over Jason Kendall, Edgar Renteria and Rey Ordonez, giving L.A. a remarkable five in a row, with second baseman Wilton Guerrero and outfielder Karim Garcia on the way.

PHILLIE FEUD?

They were teammates with the original Angels, friends for 35 years, but a trying season for the Philadelphia Phillies has tried the relationship between General Manager Lee Thomas and Manager Jim Fregosi, prompting owner Bill Giles to send Thomas on the current trip with orders to “kiss and make up.”

Said Giles: “If I don’t feel comfortable that they’re on the same page, I might have to make a change.”

Frustrated by injuries that have forced the Phillies to use the disabled list a club-record 23 times and employ 53 players, including 15 rookies, a simmering Fregosi has seemed to knock Thomas at times for failing to supply veteran help. Thomas, in turn, considers that ingratitude from a man he has hired three times in St. Louis and Philadelphia and feels that Fregosi has not played certain young players as much as he should have.

In denying that he has contacted the Angels to express managerial interest, Fregosi said, “It’s been a tough season. Emotions get strained, people get touchy. Lee and I are fine.”

CAPSIZED MARINERS

Seattle pitching has been so bad that the Mariners have lost 29 games in which they scored five runs or more. “One of the biggest disappointments we’ve had is that none of our young pitchers have shown any improvement,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “We’ve used 15 starters and that’s nothing short of ridiculous.”

The Mariners’ playoff hopes are probably dead, but they get a final crack at the Texas Rangers in a four-game series in the Kingdome, beginning Monday.

Said Norm Charlton: “We’re in the race, but we’re not chasing the California Angels this year. Texas is a veteran team, one that’s much more likely to hold together. This time last year, California was doing a lot of stupid things. But the Rangers, those guys have been around and they know how to go about their business.”

SPEAKING OF STUPID THINGS . . .

Have the Angels ever been more pathetic or apathetic than during the four-game sweep by Cleveland? This is a revolving-door team that has employed 29 pitchers and 52 players and is so far removed from the team that built a 13-game division lead last year that it’s fortunate Anaheim Stadium seating capacity next year will be only 27,000.

GIANT SUCCESS

The problems the Oakland Raiders have encountered selling personal seat licenses at the renovated Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum have been well chronicled. The San Francisco Giants, preparing private financing for their new park downtown at China Basin, are the “antithesis” of the Raiders, Vice President Larry Baer said, claiming the response to what the Giants call charter seats has been “beyond our wildest expectations.”

The Giants have received $40 million from Pacific Bell for name rights and $140 million in financing from a Chase Manhattan subsidiary and hope to complete the construction package with $100 million in sponsorship rights, including $40 million to $45 million from the sale of 13,700 charter seats at between $1,500 and $7,500.

It’s a one-time fee--Raider PSLs revert to the club after 10 years--that is currently being offered only to the club’s 12,000 partial and full season-ticket holders. “The overwhelming majority have responded favorably,” Baer said. “We expect to have 10,000 sold even before we go to the general public. People have seen the vision and the vision is spectacular.”

HOMER HAPPY

There is no better illustration of a season that has produced a record number of home runs than this weekend’s series between the pitching-poor Detroit Tigers and a Baltimore Oriole lineup featuring nine players with 20 or more home runs. The Orioles need three homers to break the all-time record of 240 in a season, set by the 1961 New York Yankees. And by giving up three homers Thursday, the Tigers broke the record of 226, set by the 1987 Orioles.

NOTEBOOK

Before leaving Los Angeles, Cincinnati first baseman Hal Morris said of the renovated Dodger Stadium infield: “It’s the worst in the majors. Worse than Florida and worse than Atlanta, which are bad.” . . . Without fanfare or publicity, the Reds have re-signed pitchers John Smiley, Jeff Brantley and Jeff Shaw to multiyear contracts, reducing the possibility of the anticipated roster and payroll overhaul during the winter. Relief ace Brantley acknowledged that it may get bizarre at times under Marge Schott, but said: “There isn’t anything in Cincinnati I don’t like. The way I’ve been treated is the best. Remember, I came from San Francisco, where I was treated terribly.”

The players’ union insists that a labor agreement must be reached by the end of the regular season or the situation would revert to ground zero. Once the players disperse, the union says, it would be difficult getting a ratification vote, and once the season ends, clubs will be into a new signing season still governed by old free-agent and arbitration rules.

Barry Bonds said Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa was the victim of a “big ego” when he pitched to Bonds in the eighth inning Wednesday and Bonds hit his second two-run homer of a 4-2 San Francisco victory. Responded La Russa: “I know he’s good, but is he good enough to play left field and manage the other club? He ain’t that good. I’m surprised that he knows I manage the club, he’s so into himself. Maybe he’s just embarrassed that we won two out of three and he didn’t win three games by himself.” . . . American League officials are concerned about the White Sox winning the wild card and the image of empty seats--a la Riverfront Stadium during last year’s playoffs--at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The White Sox, who drew 2 1/2 million when they won a division title in 1993, are averaging only 21,612. “All my life, I thought if you win, you draw people,” shortstop Ozzie Guillen said. “I don’t know what happened. Nobody knows the answer. Those people didn’t all die, did they?”