Nevin suffers another injury

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Monday, March 8, 2004 9:54 PM PST ∞

PEORIA, Ariz. ---- March 7 might as well be Friday the 13th for Phil Nevin and the Padres.

A year to the day after he dislocated his left shoulder while diving for a fly ball in the outfield, Nevin injured the same shoulder Sunday evening when the first baseman sprawled out for a grounder through the infield during a 6-3 loss to Anaheim.

Nevin was immediately removed from the game after the incident in the top of the second inning and taken to the Padres' training room for examination. He flew back to San Diego on Sunday night and will undergo an MRI today to discover the severity of the injury.

"At this point we're holding out hope that he's fine," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. "We'll just have to wait."

Nevin, who hurt his shoulder while playing right field last spring, was shifted to first base in the offseason partly in the hope that he would be less prone to injury there. But with two outs in the second inning, the Angels' Brian Specht lined a pitch from Ismael Valdez sharply to the right of Nevin, who dove but was unable to stab the ball.

"He made a great effort," Bochy said. "He dove for it and landed pretty hard. He said he felt a twinge. I thought it knocked the wind out of him. There was no question that he was going to come out of the game."

After consulting with Bochy and Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson on the field, Nevin walked back to the dugout and could be seen covering his face with his hands in disappointment. He later left the stadium with Hutcheson.

Nevin was unavailable for comment.

"I'm not going to be overly concerned until I know if it's serious," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said.

Towers and Bochy agreed that the injury didn't appear as serious as the one last year, which occurred in Tucson during a game against the Chicago White Sox.

"His shoulder came out. This is different," Bochy said. "Last year we knew he was done. Now it's a case of being on the cautious side and getting him looked at."

Said Towers: "Last year was much worse. Last year he was rolling around on the ground and not getting up."

Because of the injury, the 33-year-old Nevin played in just 59 games in 2003, hitting .279 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs. The year before, he was limited to 107 games by a strained left elbow and a fractured left humerus.

Nevin's best season came in 2001, when he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game and hit .306 with 41 homers and 126 RBIs.

Bochy was disappointed that his slugger may have to deal with another setback.

"He was fully recovered and had gotten himself into his best shape ever," Bochy said. "He worked so hard this winter."

Brian Buchanan will take Nevin's place in the lineup today, but Bochy has yet to formulate a long-term plan.

"We'll talk about our options when we find out what's going on," he said.

"Hopefully we don't have to think about any options."

Regardless of the severity of the injury, the Padres now believe that March 7 is jinxed.

"JD (assistant trainer Jim Daniel) said, 'I can assure you that he will not play on this day next year,' " Bochy said.

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.