Dear Batgirl,
I first heard Phil Nevin was a member of the Twins during a radio broadcast, and my immediate reaction was one of horrified disbelief. I grimly forecast a quiet, unassuming end to the Twins' playoff ambitions right there. My reaction came from three seasons spent watching Mr. Nevin perform poorly for an otherwise-mediocre Padres team. Phil's skillsets were manifold: like a less-gifted A-Rod, Mr. Nevin had a talent for solo moonshots when the run differential was nine-plus; an affinity for rally-killing double-plays; an omnipresent fondness for strikeouts; a penchant for the half-second-gasper, one of those bases-loaded-two-out marvels where for a split second you hear the crack of the bat and see the speed of the ball and your brain clenches in hope before the ball hangs and as it falls (not even near the warning track), you reprove yourself for your reaction, because this is, after all, Phil Nevin, and there is no hope there. I was by no means a Padre fan, but after attending 15 or 20 games over three years, I was a big non-fan of Phil Nevin.
How, then, to explain my sadness at his (doubtless season-ending) injury today? Glassy McFragilekins seems like no loss for a team packed with talented, scrappy infielders; for God's sake, today Mr. Nevin was replaced by Terry Tiffee, who has much higher returns on the cuteness-of-name front alone. But Phil managed to create a story for himself that spoke positively about the Twins. It helped that he had some very nice things to say about the club, but there was this sense that moving to a place with seasons and character and far fewer thongs and magic ass-unicorns and no recollection whatsoever of 1999-2001 gave Phil access to a very dilute fountain of youth, that he was able to lay down his own personal ass-bat and, if not be particularly good, at least be not so startlingly bad. The change to his surroundings, some quintessence of Twin, was what allowed him to raise his game, which in turn made the team better. It was a happier version of the tales of T-Fat and Booney, a story we all knew the Twins had in them because of the rampant coolness of their clubhouse. That the story ended (at least for the moment) in such an inauspicious way is very Nevin: his ways are not the ways of tragedy but rather of melancholy, of pointless, unremarkable sadness. But his very brief, very small arc was, from my perspective, worthy of note.
Searching, however, for the marks that his presence made upon the Batcave, I was sorry to see nothing but his cursory welcome and delighted descriptions of his gaffes and failures when playing for other teams. There's no doubt in my mind that issues larger than the Story of the Saddest Padre have consumed the Batbrain for the not-quite-month of Phil's tenure, but I would humbly request that some note of recognition be penned, if only because the appeal of Batgirl is that you not only worship at the godhead of Johan K, but take time to lovingly note the tiniest, the nerdiest, and the nakedest of Twins. Please make time to note the passing of this, the Nevinest one, as well.
With deep respect,
Boolio
Dear Mr. Boolio,
Batgirl can think of no better a tribute than your letter. She encourages readers to follow the link, too, to read about Nevin's joy at being a Twin. Baseball giveth and baseball taketh away. But fret not, Mr. Nevin's injury is nothing serious, he shall live to hump another day.
Sincerely,
Batgirl
Judging from this little blurb, Phil should be right as rain:
"But X-rays taken later on Nevin's wrist came back negative and he felt that even with the bruised wrist, he'd be available to play Sunday. "I just got a stinger and caught a nerve or something," Nevin said. "I came inside and a few minutes later, the numbness went away in my hand and I felt fine."
I was very worried when I heard that he'd been taken out for a wrist injury today. I think that Phil has grown to be a part of the Twins over his short time with the team, and his wonderful comments about his teammates and time here have only elevated his status - in my mind at least. If one ventures over to the BatCave, they will see many a fond comment devoted to Phil...especially after that article came out. I, for one, am very glad he's a part of the Twins and that he's getting an opportunity to experience the best 17+ days of his baseball life with the best team in the nation.
I agree with Newton. Phil's only been here for a couple of weeks, but to think that he finds them to be the best couple weeks of his career? That's awesome.
Posted by: Lynnie at September 23, 2006 11:38 PMIm glad to read that Nevin's injury was minor. While he hasn't become the daily DH that he was projected to be, he hasn't been anything resembling Boonish. I like being able to give the Doc a day here and there where he can DH and take a day off from the field. From all appearances, he's a decent guy who's paid his dues for years on non-contending teams... he's earned a month in a real, live, playoff chase.
Posted by: JimCrikket at September 24, 2006 12:39 AM« You want to know why this club wins? Watch the infield play defense. »
Phil Nevin
Well said, Mr. Nevin. I have deep respect for a guy who says that kind of thing.
Posted by: TwinsPrincess at September 24, 2006 11:35 AMNevin has the makings of a good coach. He understands the game the way run of the mill players do. Superstars are usually too busy playing their own game to watch what's happening around them. Phil's spent a lot of years studying the game and when he hangs it up could keep making his living in the game.
Posted by: billhedrick at September 24, 2006 12:04 PMsometimes hard to remember that Nevin was the #1 draft pick in '92-- drafted before Shannon Stewart, before Jeter, Kendall, Charles Johnson, Ja. Giambi, Damon, Helling, Vidro, Shuey, Preston Wilson, Lieber, Catalanotto, Higginson, Aurilia, Ibanez ... and almost frittered (and argued and bitched) his career away before finally figuring things out. "I was a fool. I was a complete idiot," Nevin says. "I didn't listen to anybody. I thought I had it all figured out. I didn't have any respect for the game."
He still has moments when his temper gets the better of him, but he seems to be one of those guys who then realizes he's been an ass and will own up to it....
as a one-time casual fan of the padres, it's always fun for me to see cross-over between the teams. i loved that phil was a padre - i automatically gave him the chance i refused boone. i, too, loved the "best 17 days of my career" quote. poor phil, i'm sorry to see the news of a season-ending injury.
Posted by: Say Rah! at September 24, 2006 02:16 PMok, apparently i should read the comments before i post my own. i've been living under a rock this weekend and this was all news to me. yay phil.
Posted by: Say Rah! at September 24, 2006 02:18 PMNevin's value should come in the postseason - he's one of those guys who gets 3 at-bats in a series and changes the dynamic. He also allows Gardy to have that third catcher option in the postseason, which might mean more NBP.
Posted by: TD at September 24, 2006 02:25 PMHow about that Phil Nevin! 6-3 Twins.
Posted by: SC at September 24, 2006 03:33 PMNevin, despite the injury, is playing today and (as I type this) just hit his first dinger as a twin!
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Posted by: ringtones free at September 24, 2006 11:52 PMI dunno... Nice guy and everything. He's got the Twins mindset about the game and that's great.
But, isn't he batting like 200?? I get queasy evertime he comes up to the plate.
Once I read Mr. Boolio's first few paragraphs, it all made sense to me.
I don't like waiting for his mojo to kick in during the playoffs. I'd rather the Twins try something else.
Posted by: rotrhed at September 25, 2006 08:37 AMI dunno... Nice guy and everything. He's got the Twins mindset about the game and that's great.
But, isn't he batting like 200?? I get queasy evertime he comes up to the plate.
Once I read Mr. Boolio's first few paragraphs, it all made sense to me. Nevin's the weak link in the batting order.
I don't like waiting for his mojo to kick in during the playoffs. I'd rather the Twins try something else.
Posted by: rotrhed at September 25, 2006 08:38 AM"Something else"? It's September 25. Not a lot of options at this point that haven't already been explored. I think, for what they need from him, Nevin's going to be fine.
Posted by: adidasman at September 25, 2006 04:31 PM