Padres Give Paul Faries a Vote of Confidence : Baseball: He gets nod as team’s top utility infielder.

PALM SPRINGS —  You look at his face, and wonder if this guy once played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffth Show.

You look at his pale body, all 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, and wonder how this guy can possibly be from Huntington Beach.

You look at his enthusiasm, and wonder if this guy shouldn’t still be playing college ball, sitting on a bench wearing a rally cap.

You then look at members of the Padre coaching staff, seeing the pleasure in their faces, the elation in their eyes, watching this kid play the game the way it was designed.

You begin to understand why Paul Faries, who was considered a fringe prospect at best when he was drafted four years ago in the 23rd round, is the man who who will be responsible for sending veteran shortstop Garry Templeton or second baseman Marty Barrett on his way home.

The Padres, who have not made an official announcement, have decided that Faries will be on their opening-day roster. He’ll be the Padres’ No. 1 utility infielder, and will be thrown in at second base, third base or shortstop, wherever he is needed.

“To tell you the truth,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said, “there’s nothing about Faries we don’t like. We think he’s going to be a great asset to our team.”

The Padres, who played Faries primarily at second base in his four years in the minor leagues, decided late last summer that Faries would be best suited as a utility player. Sure, he was a fine defensive second baseman who could make all the routine plays, but the Padres already had All-Star Roberto Alomar at second. They moved Faries to shortstop for the month of August in triple-A Las Vegas, and called him up to the big-leagues Sept. 6.

He wound up playing seven games at second, four games at shortstop and one game at third. He batted only .189 in his 37 at-bats, but with his aggressiveness, and baseball instincts, the Padres knew they had found something special.

When they pulled off the biggest trade of the winter meetings in December, sending second baseman Roberto Alomar to Toronto, Faries couldn’t help but get excited. No Alomar. No other second baseman in the system. Hey, they were counting on him, right?

“I thought it looked pretty good for me,” Faries said. “I knew it was early, but I thought maybe they were counting on me. But I knew they weren’t just going to hand me a job. They just don’t do that in the big leagues.”

It took all of four days in camp for the Padres to decide that they wanted Bip Roberts to play second. Sorry, but Faries was going to have to make this team as a utility player. Besides, as Riddoch kept reminding everyone, Faries was an All-American shortstop at Pepperdine.

“Not exactly,” Faries said. “I was a third-team All-American. Well, it wasn’t even that, really. I think I was tied for third-team. Something like that.”

Oh.

Faries has appeared a bit shaky at shortstop this spring, and clearly, it has been his worst position of the three when playing the field. Yet, the Padres aren’t worried. Give him time, they say, and he’ll adjust.

“I hope they have patience,” Faries said Monday before the Padres’ 9-7 victory over the Angels, “because believe me, I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to figure out my chances of making this team. You keep looking around. Hey, what are we doing here? What are they going to do with that guy? What do we do with this guy?

“It got a lot worse when my wife came down to Yuma. That’s all we ever talked about. She was trying to figure out what was going on, too.

“You know, in Yuma, there’s not a whole to talk about or much to do.”

The Padres’ primary concern is how Faries will react off the bench. Faries has been a starter his entire career. The only time he ever sat on the bench was in September, and Faries had no idea how to act.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Faries said. “There was a lot of bubble gum and sunflower seed chewing. But I’m starting to learn. You can pick up pitches. You can pick up signs. There’s ways to keep yourself busy.

“It’ll be a whole lot more fun sitting in the big leagues than playing in the minors, believe me.”

The Padres, according to a source, have decided that Eric Nolte will open the season as their fifth starter, barring a last-minute acquisition.

Nolte, who’s scheduled to start Wednesday, has appeared in three games this spring, posting a 1.50 ERA, yielding six hits and striking out five in six innings. The Padres have set the rotation so that Nolte’s first start of the season will be April 13 against the Dodgers.

Mike Maddux, who was considered to be a candidate for the fifth starter’s job, now will be competing with John Costello for the final spot in the bullpen.

The Padre staff, according to the source, is set with the exception of the 10th man: starters Ed Whitson, Bruce Hurst, Andy Benes, Greg Harris and Nolte; and relievers Craig Lefferts, Larry Andersen, Wes Gardner and Rich Rodriguez.

Nolte, 26, is expected to make at least three starts for the Padres before Dennis Rasmussen will be ready. Rasmussen, who has been plagued by tendinitis in his left shoulder this spring, will be placed on the disabled list this week and likely open the season on a rehabilitation assignment in triple-A Las Vegas.

Although Rasmussen continues to improve, the process has been slow, leaving Rasmussen frustrated.

“It’s tough to watch everything that’s going on,” Rasmussen said. “I think I should be progressing quicker than I am. But what can you do?”

Rasmussen pitched off a mound for 15 minutes before Monday’s game, and even threw breaking balls for the first time in three weeks. Yet, he experienced tightness in the back of his shoulder, letting him know that he still is at least a month away from pitching in a big-league game.

Padre first baseman Fred McGriff, after failing in his attempt to persuade right fielder Tony Gwynn to give up his uniform number, decided that he will change to No. 29 for the season, instead of wearing No. 17 as he has this spring.

“I feel bad about it,” Gwynn said, who has worn No. 19 since he was called up to the big leagues in 1983. “We talked about switching a few times since Fred wore ‘19’ in Toronto, but people got all over me for even considering it.

“But if Fred gets off to a bad start, I’ll probably do something, because he sure did some damage wearing that number.”

Said McGriff, who has made 57 plate appearances this spring without hitting a homer, said: “I just wanted to make a change. At least I got the number 9 in there.”

In the midst of the number changes, Jim Snyder, Padre bench coach, now will take McGriff’s old number.

Outfielder Thomas Howard, who hit a two-run double Monday to raise his batting average to .270, definitely will make the Padres’ opening-day roster, Riddoch said.

“He’s really opened our eyes,” Riddoch said. “He offers so much. He can hit, he’s got speed, he’s got everything. Besides, he’s reached the point where he doesn’t need to prove anything in triple-A.”

The decision leaves Darrin Jackson and Jim Vatcher battling for the final outfield spot. Jackson, who had a three-run triple Monday, is batting .313 with two homers and 10 RBIs. Vatcher is hitting .324 with two RBIs, and has has four outfield assists.

“It’s a tough decision,” Jackson said. “I’m sure glad I’m not making it.”

Also, it was confirmed, left-handed reliever Rich Rodriguez and backup catcher Tom Lampkin have been assured spots on the team by the Padre front-office and coaching staff.

Padre Notes

Pitchers Steve Rosenberg and Adam Peterson, whom the Padres acquired Sunday from the Chicago White Sox in a trade, likely will open the season at triple-A Las Vegas, Manager Greg Riddoch said. “It would be awfully hard to have them pitch one time and make a judgement,” Riddoch said. “It’s just so late, right now.” . . . Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, had discussions Monday morning with Pirate General Manager Larry Doughty about the availability of Bobby Bonilla. Even though the Pirates have talked about trading Bonilla, who can play third base, first base and left field, McIlvaine said the Pirates likely will retain him. . . . One of the primary reasons the Padres are uninterested in acquiring pitcher Fernando Valenzuela? He never threw harder than 78 m.p.h. in any game this spring. . . . Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn, who’s dieting, cracked the 210 barrier Monday, and now weighs a svelte 209 pounds.