NOTEBOOK : PADRES UPDATE : Roberts Misses Teammates, and the Team Misses Him

Padre second baseman Bip Roberts sat at home Wednesday afternoon, stared at the radio, and wondered what he should do. He wanted to walk across the room, turn on the Padre-Dodger game, and listen to see how his buddies were faring.

He started, and then stopped, finally deciding he felt bad enough without tormenting himself any further.

“I just couldn’t do it,” Roberts said Wednesday from his Poway home. “I wanted to, I really did, but I couldn’t handle it. It’s just too tough to take.

“I tried watching (Tuesday) night, but I had to keep switching the channels. It’s too tough to sit there and watch knowing you should be out there.”

Roberts on Wednesday began the first full day of his rehabilitative treatment since undergoing arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair cartilage in his left knee, He did leg-lifts and stretched at Scripps Clinic, hoping to rejoin the Padres in two or three weeks.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take,” Roberts said. “It might take some time. I’ve never been through anything like this.”

Roberts, who sustained the injury Friday night when caught in a rundown in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves, has suffered many injuries thoughout his career, but never one involving his knee. The thought terrified him.

“I’m nothing without my legs,” said Roberts, who was batting .284 with a team-leading 23 stolen bases. “That’s how I made it up here, using my legs. It’s a very big part of my game, so I was scared what would happen.”

The surgery went smoothly, however, and Roberts is optimistic that he will return this season. The most difficult aspect, he said, is dealing with the frustration.

“That’s the part that kills me,” Roberts said. “I just got my (act) going. I proved to myself I was not a .240 hitter. I proved to myself I can play in the big leagues.

“And now, of all times, I got hurt. Man, you don’t know how that hurts.”

Roberts was hitting .360 in the 22 games before the injury, keeping the Padres’ playoff hopes alive. The Padres have lost four of six games since Roberts’ injury, and their running game has consisted of one stolen base.

“That’s why I want to get back as soon as I can,” Roberts said. “I wish I could be there to help the team. This sitting-around stuff is killing me.”

Padre outfielder Kevin Ward knows he’s supposed to be professional about it. This is the major leagues, and he can’t display his youthful enthusiasm without being ridiculed by his teammates.

Yet, when you’re playing at Dodger Stadium for the first time in your career, and find yourself in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, taking the place of Tony Gwynn, Ward found it impossible to camouflage his emotions.

“I’m definitely saving the boxscore from this game,” Ward said, “especially with (Orel) Hershiser on the mound. This one goes to the scrapbook.

“It’s funny, if someone had told me at the start of the year that I’d be here, and hitting third at Dodger Stadium, I would have told them to get their head examined.”

Ward went two for five with a double.

Just what is the most telling and damaging statistic about the Padres’ talent this season?

There have been 24 players this season who have played both for the Padres and triple-A Las Vegas. Remarkably, 16 of those players started the season in Las Vegas.

“We still want to get some answers on guys so Mr. McIlvaine can make his decisions in the off-season,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “We do know Shawn Abner was not the answer to center field, don’t we?”

Padre shortstop Tony Fernandez, who has been battling the flu the past few days, missed Wednesday’s game. “I’ve been feeling pretty weak,” Fernandez said. “I just haven’t been right.” . . . The Dodgers snapped their streak of 240 innings without scoring more than three runs in an inning. . . . Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn and his brother Chris Gwynn of the Dodgers will be featured today on ESPN’s Up-Close show. . . . The Padres are off today and will begin a three-game series Friday against the Cubs in Chicago. The scheduled pitching matchups: Bruce Hurst (14-6) vs. Mike Bielecki (11-8) at 12:20 p.m. (PST) Friday; Andy Benes (8-10) vs. Greg Maddux (10-7) at 1:05 p.m. Saturday; and Dennis Rasmussen (4-10) vs. Danny Jackson (1-3) at 11:20 a.m. Sunday.