Padre Notebook : Young Catcher Upset by His Uncertain Future

MESA, Ariz. —  At 3:28 p.m. Sunday, the kid turned his bat on an inside fastball from Chicago Cubs pitcher Mitch Williams. Just like that, the ball rocketed down the third base line, skipping inside the bag and into the left-field corner.

Just like that, the kid could breathe.

“I look up and I say, ‘Oh man, thank you,’ ” related Padre Sandy Alomar Jr., after his first hit of the spring, a double in his 15th plate appearance in an eventual 5-3 victory over the Cubs. “I think, ‘Give me the ball, give me the ball.’ ”

What their top catching prospect took from that double, the Padres hope, is something more than equipment.

“I hope it teach him he can be himself,” said coach Sandy Alomar, his father. “Maybe I’m being optimistic but, this has not been the Sandy I know. This is nothing like him. I hope his hit gives him relaxation, so maybe he will stop trying so hard.”

So far this spring, everyone has talked of how Sandy Alomar Jr. will bring the one hitter the Padres need to be considered among the National League West favorites. Problem is, Alomar has listened to that talk. And worried. And been distracted. And played like, well, a 22-year-old minor league catcher.

His troubles culminated Saturday against Seattle, a team which has shown much interest in him. At the plate he went hitless in two at-bats, once failing to score a runner from third with none out. Behind the plate he allowed two steals of second base, once when he threw the ball into center field, and another when he threw the ball into the dirt.

“My timing has been terrible,” Alomar admitted. “I try to throw a guy out against Seattle and the ball slips out of my hand and I go ‘Ohhhh, they are never going to trade me.’ ”

Because of what he can bring the Padres--maybe Mike Pagliarulo of the New York Yankees, Lenny Dykstra or Howard Johnson of the New York Mets, or a number of others--Alomar may be their most important player this spring. They need him to play well.

“He’s got to realize, there’s no pressure here, this should be fun, the real pressure is having to return to triple A (if he is not traded),” Manager Jack McKeon said.

“All I can think,” Alomar said, “is that (starting catcher) Benito Santiago scuffled for a couple of months before he became good. I hope people realize that 14 at-bats don’t mean anything.”

McKeon is sending his two top scouts to Fort Lauderdale today to check out Pagliarulo. He expects to phone all Alomar-friendly teams within the next week to restart trade talks. Just what the kid’s troubles mean, we should soon find out.

Padre Notes

Considering it was the first time the opening day starting lineup has been intact, the Padres were pleased with Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Cubs, which improved their record to 6-3-1. Garry Templeton started things off with his first hit of the spring (in his 13th at-bat), an RBI single in the second. Then Jack Clark hit his first homer of the spring in the third, a two-run shot that was followed one batter later by Carmelo Martinez’s second homer of the spring. The Padres finished their scoring in the fourth on Randy Ready’s RBI double, his second double of the game. Starter Ed Whitson allowed two runs in five innings for the victory, while Mark Davis picked up the save with two shutout innings. . . . Clark supposedly starts slow, but so far this spring he is hitting .400 with four RBIs in five games. . . . If you’re preparing to drive to the ballpark this morning to pick up a couple of tickets for opening night April 3, forget it. The Padres’ opening night game April 3 against San Francisco in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium has been declared a sellout, with an expected crowd of 59,022.