PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Neither McGriff Nor Fernandez Is Upset at All-Star Omission
SAN DIEGO — Manager Lou Piniella named the rest of the National League All-Star team Thursday, and it didn’t include two players the Padres thought had a chance: first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez.
Neither said he was upset by the snub, and both said they are planning to spend the All-Star break at their homes in Florida.
“I’m going to visit friends and see how the house is doing,” McGriff said. “Take a vacation and rest my body.”
Said Fernandez: “Why should I be upset? I don’t make it, that’s fine. I’m not the manager.”
Looking strictly at numbers, McGriff’s statistics are comparable to John Kruk’s and better than Eddie Murray’s--the two first basemen picked by Piniella.
There is a rule that says each team has to be represented, and Kruk is the lone Phillie on the squad. So, the other first base spot seems to have come down between McGriff and Murray. McGriff’s numbers: 15 homers, 50 RBIs, .275 batting average. Murray’s: eight homers, 50 RBIs, .265 batting average.
“I knew it was going to be close,” McGriff said. “Kruk has had a good year, and Eddie Murray has had a good year.
“Your first couple of years, when you’re playing and having a good year, you really get upset. Now, I know there are things in baseball and life you can’t control. Why get upset over things you can’t control?”
Besides, with Chili Davis, Dave Winfield and Chuck Finley all being passed over for the American League squad, McGriff is in good company.
“Chili, Winnie . . . there will be a lot of disappointed people this year, I guess,” Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn said. “That’s why I say you never know until you are voted in.”
Said McGriff: “I’ve got to find me some fans.”
Add McGriff: Since he spent four seasons in Toronto, the site of Tuesday’s All-Star Game, you may think McGriff would be a little disappointed at not being able to make a triumphant return to the city.
Not true, McGriff said.
“It don’t really matter,” he said. “I’ve been to Toronto a few times. It’s not like I’ve never been there before.”
A day after crashing into the center field fence and badly bruising his acromio-clavicular (where the shoulder blade meets the collarbone), Bip Roberts was still pretty sore.
“It’s a lot better than it was last night, but it’s still sore,” Roberts said before Thursday’s game. “I’ll be ready in a couple of days.”
Roberts was not in the starting lineup Thursday, but what has him the most frustrated is that he will probably miss this weekend’s series in San Francisco. He grew up in the Bay Area and still has family there.
“I wanted to play in front of my family, but that’s part of the game,” he said.
Roberts didn’t do much Thursday except receive treatment.
“It’s my throwing arm, so I can’t throw,” he said. “I’m not supposed to do anything until it feels better.”
Already this year, he has had back problems, missed a couple of games after eating bad shrimp and now is laid up with the shoulder injury. Still, he said, he is not ready to write the year off.
“It’s only the first half,” he said. “It ain’t the whole year. I’m all right mentally. If I don’t sit here with my head in my lap, I’ll be all right.”
And he couldn’t help letting a smile escape regarding the whole affair.
“I always wanted to make a catch like that,” he said.
Gwynn became an uncle for the third time Wednesday when his Dodger brother, Chris, and his wife, JoAnn, became the parents of a 6-pound, 4-ounce baby girl. Chris Gwynn, who lives in the Los Angeles area, was not at Thursday night’s Padre-Dodger game. He will rejoin the Dodgers in Los Angeles this weekend for a series against the Braves. . . . Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda tied Joe Cronin for 27th place on the all-time games managed list Thursday when he directed his 2,291st game. . . . Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said his headache was gone from the accidental beaning he took Tuesday night when Benito Santiago threw a batting helmet. The “Hard Hat Area” sign in the Padre dugout was taken down after one night.
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