ANAHEIM ― Phil Nevin got his rookie mistake out of the way early. Tuesday, meeting with reporters for the first time after Joe Maddon was fired, the Angels’ interim manager was asked where Shohei Ohtani was hitting in that night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
Nevin couldn’t say. He hadn’t filled out the lineup card yet.
Sunday, Nevin was able to laugh at his own mistake.
“The routine’s got better,” he said. “Each day goes by, you get more structure and your conversations become a little different ― it’s ‘going forward, what’s best for us’ as they were earlier but now you have more understanding of what the routine is.”
In many ways, the daily routine is similar to the one Nevin enjoyed as the team’s third-base coach. He can commute to the ballpark from his home in Poway. His daughter and granddaughter are nearby. His son is back home from college on his summer break.
These things, unlike managing a baseball team, are new. The comforts of home are a dramatic departure from Nevin’s vagabond 14-year coaching career with stops in Erie, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; Reno, Nevada; San Francisco and New York.
The Fullerton native leaped at the chance to return home when the Angels called last winter with an offer to coach. Tuesday’s offer to manage at the big-league level was an unexpected bonus. Nevin, 51, said the “homecoming” narrative isn’t lost on him, but he hasn’t taken the time to reflect on its meaning.
With any mid-season managerial change comes an expectation the results will change, too. Yet Nevin has done little to shake up the team’s processes behind the scenes.
“I don’t think we’ve had a new routine or anything,” pitcher Michael Lorenzen said after Saturday’s game. “We trust our process. We show up to work. We show up to win. If we’re not winning we’re definitely working. Nothing’s changed. Really.”
OHTANI RESTS
Sunday was only the fourth time Shohei Ohtani was not in the Angels’ starting lineup. Nevin said the two-way star approached him late in Saturday’s game with the idea. Nevin thought about it, agreed, and made the decision official afterward.
Ohtani’s day off had nothing to do with his slide into home plate Saturday, a close play in which he was blocked by Mets catcher Tomas Nido and tagged out trying to score from second on a hit to right field. After the minor collision, Ohtani limped briefly before walking back to the dugout. He batted three times afterward.
“This is more of a mutual thing to give him some time,” Nevin said. “He needs it. I know he seems like Superman. Even Superman took a day off once in a while.”
Ohtani hit a home run, double and single Saturday, extending his hitting streak to eight games. He is hitting .255 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs in 60 games.
ALSO
Right fielder Taylor Ward remains on track to return to the lineup Tuesday against the Dodgers. His throwing range is not expected to be an issue, head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said. … Infielder David Fletcher (left hip strain) has resumed hitting in the batting cage, but there is no timetable for his return. Fletcher is on the 60-day injured list and cannot be activated before July. … Left-hander Jose Suarez, a frequent interloper in the Angels’ starting rotation, allowed five of the 10 Oklahoma City batters he faced Sunday to score against Triple-A Salt Lake. … Noah Syndergaard and Reid Detmers are scheduled to start Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, at Dodger Stadium. Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson will pitch for the Dodgers in that order.
UP NEXT
The Angels are off Monday.
Angels (RHP Noah Syndergaard, 4-4, 3.69 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Tony Gonsolin, 7-0, 1.58 ERA), Tuesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, TBS, 570 AM