Andersen's Injury Is Latest Kink in Padres' Pitching Plan : Baseball: Reliever fears shoulder pain indicates a serious condition. Lefferts has a rough outing.

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

March 26, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

YUMA, Ariz. — The Padres, who were hoping their pitching staff would carry them through the season, are left wondering today if they can even make it to the season opener.

With the season only 11 days away, the Padres conceded Wednesday that they have no idea who will fill two vacancies in their starting rotation. Their bullpen is equally unsettled.

Reliever Larry Andersen became the latest casualty Wednesday when he drove back to San Diego and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test on his ailing right shoulder. Results of the test are expected today, but the Padres believe he could be joining starter Ed Whitson on the disabled list.

“We’re scared to death,” one team official said.

Andersen, 38, who spent two stints on the disabled list last year with a herniated and ruptured disc in his neck, sustained the injury Tuesday while simply lobbing a baseball to teammate Bruce Hurst. He tried to throw again Wednesday, felt the same sharp pain and immediately was sent to San Diego.

“It felt like a knife went through my shoulder,” Andersen said. “I tried to throw, tried to lob a ball, and couldn’t even do that.

“It’s scary any time a player has anything in his shoulder. Even a twinge, you get scared. That was my initial reaction. It scared the crap out of me.”

Andersen was prescribed Indocin, an anti-inflammatory medication, Tuesday night, but when he attempted to pitch Wednesday, the pain had not diminished.

“It was absolutely zero improvement,” Andersen said. “That’s the scary part. I’ve never had anything like this before.

“I just hope and pray it’s nothing serious.”

Said one of Andersen’s teammates: “He’s really worried. I’ve never seen him act this way before. I think he wonders if this could be it.”

Padre Manager Greg Riddoch was also distressed.

“It’s absolutely crazy right now,” Riddoch said. “I don’t know whether we’re any closer to deciding anything at this point than we were at the start of the spring.”

Muddling the situation further, the Padres might trade away as many as three pitchers in separate deals by opening day.

The Padres, according to sources, have offered starting pitcher Ricky Bones and reliever Jeremy Hernandez to the Milwaukee Brewers for third baseman Gary Sheffield.

Yet, the Brewers still are insisting on Bones, minor-league shortstop Jose Valentin and minor-league outfielder Matt Mieske.

“They know what we want,” said Sal Bando, Brewer general manager, “and we’re not making that trade unless we get it.”

McIlvaine refused to confirm that he had further talks Wednesday with the Brewers, only to say he had discussions with six teams.

“I’m not going to say anything more than that,” McIlvaine said. “All that’s going on now is the normal course of business. It’s starting to get ridiculous. If you read the papers, you’d think our whole team is being traded.

“I still think something will be done, I just don’t know which fishing line will bring in the catch.”

The Padres also continue to dangle pitcher Craig Lefferts as trade bait. The Montreal Expos extensively scouted Lefferts the past week, but still are unsure whether they want to pay his $1.875 million salary.

“It’s just a question of money,” one Expo scout said.

Lefferts, who yielded 10 hits and five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings Wednesday during the Padres’ 8-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants, still is considered a viable candidate for a job in the starting rotation. But he has allowed 29 hits in 22 2/3 innings, owns a 4.76 ERA and is yielding a .312 batting average.

“It’s pretty difficult to give someone a job when everything’s up in the air,” Riddoch said. “He’s going to be on the team, it’s just a matter of what he’s doing to do.”

Lefferts, who had been one of the Padres’ most consistent performers this spring, struggled during the entire outing. He gave up a run-scoring single and a run-scoring double to Dave Masters--a pitcher. The Giants’ lineup was only a split-squad team. They left behind Will Clark, Matt Williams, Robby Thompson and Willie McGee, to name a few.

“I felt good and strong,” Lefferts said, “I was just out of rhythm. Everything was up. But I’m not going to worry about it. If I put pressure on myself to pitch perfect outings every time, I probably won’t do it.

“I still think I’ve proven I belong in the rotation, and I’ll be disappointed if I’m not.”

Meanwhile, there was at least some encouraging news on the pitching front. Andy Benes, who missed two weeks of the spring recovering from minor abdominal surgery, threw 70 pitches against the Padres’ minor leaguers in an intrasquad game and is scheduled to open the season on schedule.

He probably will be pushed back to the fourth spot in the rotation, Padre pitching coach Mike Roarke said, and start the Padres’ home opener April 9 against the Dodgers.

“Just because I’m the fourth guy to start the season,” Benes said, “it doesn’t mean I’m the fourth-best pitcher. If people want to think that, it’s fine by me. I’ll be ready April 6, if they tell me I’m pitching.

“Ah, I didn’t want to pitch in Cincinnati, anyway.”

The Padres also received a strong performance from Hernandez, who allowed only one hit in three innings. If Andersen opens the season on the disabled list, and Hernandez is not traded, he could emerge as the Padres’ right-handed setup man.

Then again. . . .

“It’s gotten crazy,” Benes said. “Heck, with the way things are going around here, I don’t even know if I’ll be in the rotation. Nobody’s told me anything.

“You look around the clubhouse, and you wonder if the guys who are with us now, will continue to be with us. You wonder what’s going to happen next. It seems like it’s changing by the day.

“Man, what a spring.”