Henderson’s Impact Takes a Nose Dive

As the 42-year-old catalyst in the San Diego Padres’ swift, sudden and surprising drive to the top of the National League West, Rickey Henderson seemed to prove that he wasn’t on his last legs.

Now, three weeks later, no one can be sure.

The Padres began the weekend having lost 15 of 19 games since gaining the undisputed division lead on May 24, and Henderson had only four hits in 58 at-bats in his last 16 games, and has only three hits in 50 at-bats against left-handers all season.

The Padres had fallen into last place in the West, and Henderson was batting .214 and scheduled for an extended respite while Manager Bruce Bochy employs an outfield of Bubba Trammell, Mike Darr and Mark Kotsay.

Club officials are cautious what they say about Henderson, not wanting to demean his earlier contributions, but the reality is that he may have difficulty returning to the lineup and even staying on the roster, given that the Padres will need space when some of the nine players on their disabled list start returning.

Henderson needs only 50 hits for 3,000 and 39 runs to break Ty Cobb’s record, but he is no longer the player who hit .330 with an on-base percentage of .454 while the Padres were going 18-6 from April 26 to May 24.

“The way he’s swinging now, I don’t know how he’s going to get to 3,000,” a club official said.

General Manager Kevin Towers was more circumspect.

“Rickey gave us a real shot in the arm for a three-week period, helping get us in first place,” Towers said. “He’s definitely slowed down the last two or three weeks. As great a shape as he’s in, it’s a grind for someone even half his age, and he’s admittedly tired. We’ll give him some rest over the next week, then run him out there again to see if that’s helped.”

The Padres also face questions about Tony Gwynn, 41. He was put on the disabled list April 21 because of a hamstring strain, came off May 8, went back on May 11 with the same injury and is still day to day, unable to run well enough to be activated.

This is the third consecutive season that injuries have reduced Gwynn’s availability, inevitably generating speculation that he may consider retiring before October, particularly considering his interest in becoming the baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater.

However, club officials say they would be shocked if Gwynn--who also is coming back from off-season knee surgery--retired before the season’s final out, although that could change if he were offered the Aztec coaching position.

It may be that Cam Bonifay’s lasting legacy as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates will be his contributions to the design of acclaimed PNC Park. Bonifay was fired last Sunday with the Pirates headed for an eighth consecutive losing season since his 1993 hiring.

He often had to operate with a restrictive budget, but owner Kevin McClatchy loosened the purse strings as the Pirates prepared to move into their new home, and now Bonifay’s $48.75-million investment in Pat Mears, Kevin Young and Derek Bell has turned so sour that he had recommended the release of Mears and Bell.

Similarly, Jason Kendall is doing so poorly--.248, four homers and 19 RBIs--in the first year of a six-year, $60-million extension that he said, “I’ve never been this miserable. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in two months. I feel like I’m letting the team down, and I certainly know I let Cam down.”

It was not Bonifay’s fault, of course, that his rotation was devastated by injuries. However, as the Pirates head for another season of 90-plus losses, having lost 93 last year, it did not escape McClatchy’s attention that the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins are leading their divisions after also losing 93 or more games last year.

“I don’t think too many people in those three markets thought those teams had much of a chance to win,” McClatchy said. “But it can be done. We have three very good players in Jason Kendall, Brian Giles and Aramis Ramirez. That’s a solid nucleus to build around. We can win here. It’s just a matter of getting the right person to help us get where we want to go.”