San Diego Padres Baseball Team

The message has reached the San Diego Padres' clubhouse loud and clear: Win. Or else. "We're the Cleveland Indians in the movie 'Major League,' " closer Heath Bell said. Second base David Eckstein nodded and laughed when asked about comparisons with the fictionalized version of the Indians, who had to win a division title to avoid a move to Miami. "That has been going around, yes," Eckstein said. "We know we need to win if we want to keep these guys here."

Heath Bell reported to the San Diego Padres' camp this spring weighing 25 pounds less than he did at the end of last season. His secret? He played video games. Baseball's current saves leader had put together an off-season training program that included many hours playing Nintendo's Wii Fit game, which runs a series of interactive exercise programs.

No offense to that large portion of the country still in a tizzy over this recent string of heroic feats by little-known athletes, but be serious. The San Diego Padres are not going to win the West. Don't care if they have been in first place for 106 of 128 days. Don't care that they haven't led this late in the season since they went to the World Series in 1984. Don't care that Fernandomania has accounted for only two fewer wins than Nomomania.

It's the home opener of Mexico's world series. A no-name tenor is belting out the Mexican national anthem through a scratchy loudspeaker. A phone company executive is preparing to throw out the first ball. An army of bookies is working the stands, bleating out the odds on the first pitch. And the Mexico City Red Devils--a team whose average salary is $12,000 a year--are about to take the field for the Mexican League championship.

The San Diego Padres, locked in a National League West dogfight with the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies, added some bite Wednesday night by trading for Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Greg Vaughn, while Cecil Fielder got his wish to play for a contender when he was traded to the New York Yankees. In major deals prior to the 9 p.m.

DODGERS Traded pitchers Joey Eischen (0-1 W-L, 4.78 ERA) and John Cummings (0-1, 6.75 ERA) to Detroit for outfielder Chad Curtis (.264 BA, 10 HR, 37 RBI). DETROIT TIGERS Traded first baseman Cecil Fielder (.248 BA, 26 HR, 79 RBI) to the New York Yankees for outfielder Ruben Sierra (.256 BA, 11 HR, 52 RBI) and pitcher Matt Drews (1-10 W-L, 6.00 ERA in minor leagues). ANGELS Traded infielder Damion Easley (.156 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI) to Detroit for pitcher Greg Gohr (4-8 W-L, 7.

San Diego may be a long way from Monterrey, Mexico, but the Padres will still probably feel very much at home there this weekend. After all, they'll be occupying the home-team dugout and playing before thousands of Mexican fans, as they do every weekend in San Diego.

Jason Thompson is getting a taste right now. Tony Gwynn, outfielder and chief needler for the San Diego Padres, is on the attack in the clubhouse. It's a typical Gwynn tongue-and-cheek assault, quick and cutting. The type that normally draws a response. Thompson, though, just grins and takes it. Afterward, Jody Reed walks by and gives Thompson a little advice. "Sooner or later you're going to learn to tell Tony to shut up, like everyone else does," Reed says. Mental note.

The San Diego Padres have not penciled in a pitching rotation for April, let alone August, but if Fernando Valenzuela and Andres Berumen, both of whom are from Mexico, make the team, it would be a natural if they were to pitch in an Aug. 16-18 series against the New York Mets. That series will be played in Monterrey, Mexico, because of scheduling conflicts at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. It is baseball's first regular-season venture outside the United States and Canada.

Professional baseball teams, already looking ahead to spring, are stealing an idea from the airline industry to boost lackluster attendance. The San Francisco Giants expect to become the second team in baseball with a frequent-fan program that rewards attendance at home games with coupons and prizes. It will be modeled on a similar scheme introduced by the San Diego Padres last year.