Khalil

Greene

Greene hit .320 with five homers and 16 RBI last month, while Wright hit .303 with six homers and 19 RBI. Wright has the early jump in September, however, at 5-for-8 with two homers, four RBI, and four runs scored already. If Greene can continue his surge at the plate, it might, when combined with his defense, be enough for him to challenge Jason Bay for Rookie of the Year honors.

Greene could return to play this weekend.

Greene is day-to-day with the injury.

GM Kevin Towers had said Greene would not arrive until 2004. Later this week, Greene is expected to be demoted from Triple-A Portland to Double-A Mobile, but only because Ramon Vazquez is coming off the DL, and Donaldo Mendez will go to Portland. Since joining Portland, Greene has hit .342 with five home runs, seven doubles, and 20 RBI while making only one error in 20 games. His progress has allowed the Padres to reconsider acquiring a shortstop to take into their new park next season.

Greene is clearly the favorite, with Vazquez expected to fill a utility role. If Greene can out-hit Ordonez and play respectable defense, he should go into the season as San Diego’s No. 8 hitter.

The domino effect of Phil Nevin’s injury. The Padres haven’t been scoring runs, so manager Bruce Bochy wanted to move his best hitters Mark Loretta and Brian Giles down a notch from 2-3 to 3-4.

X-rays were negative, but Greene has a contusion and might miss a few games. Well-timed new arrival Rich Aurilia is expected to fill in.

In addition to rewarding Greene for his great game last night, the move lets the Padres experiment. They know they need to improve the top spot in their order, and are pretty much resigned to moving Sean Burroughs and his .323 average with runners in scoring position down in the order. “Besides Burroughs, [Greene is] our best fit there,” Bochy said. That’s out of players currently on the team. GM Kevin Towers intends to promote Freddy Guzman on the upcoming homestand. If he does, look for Guzman to become the new leadoff man and Greene to move back down to seventh or eighth.

Greene’s batting average is a disappointing .259, but he is showing more power lately. The best part of his season still might be yet to come.

Damian Jackson will take over at shortstop. Jesse Garcia might be called up to replace Greene on the roster and back up Jackson.