Phillies Notes: Jimmy Rollins bats second for first time since 2004

ATLANTA - Jimmy Rollins dashed to meet his teammates for stretching at 5 p.m. Monday and almost forgot his red Phillies hat before his 13th straight opening day as the team's shortstop. In 10 of those seasons, Rollins was the first Phillies player to hit. This time, the lineup was different.

"Actually," Rollins said, "I haven't even looked" at it.

Rollins knew, though. He batted second for the first time in nearly nine years. His leadoff spot belonged to Ben Revere.

The move was somewhat surprising. Charlie Manuel used Revere at the top during spring training but was steadfast in his defense of Rollins as a leadoff hitter. Seven weeks ago, Manuel said if Revere made an impression, he could play his way into the role.

"We'll see how long I give it," Manuel said. "I come to the ballpark to win. I don't have to put a time on it or nothing. I can't tell you if it's going to be five days, 10 days, two days. We'll see. I just felt like that's what I wanted to see."

Revere went 1 for 4 with a walk and scored a run. He also stole a base. Rollins went 1 for 5.

Batting Revere first allowed Manuel to keep his two speed players at the top while not leaving his lineup susceptible to lefthanded pitchers. Rollins, a switch hitter, was slotted between three lefties in Revere, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard.

Manuel is entranced by Revere's speed at the top of his lineup. The centerfielder stole 40 bases in 124 games last season. He could do even better with a full season of plate appearances. It was his first opening day start.

"I look at Jimmy against righties, he hooks the hole good," Manuel said. "If Ben gets on, Jimmy is definitely capable of hitting balls to the right side of the diamond, getting him over, things like that. Ben's more of a spray hitter. He hits more to the left side of the diamond than Jimmy. There's a lot of things that go into play there."

When asked about the switch, Rollins said there was nothing to it. The last time Rollins batted second was May 29, 2004. The leadoff hitter that day, Doug Glanville, was in attendance Monday as an ESPN analyst.

John Mayberry Jr. and Laynce Nix entered Monday with career .308 batting averages against Braves starter Tim Hudson. Nix had a larger sample size (27 plate appearances to Mayberry's 17), but Manuel opted for Mayberry, who made his second consecutive opening-day start in right.

Had Manuel played it as a straight platoon, the lefty Nix would have started. But the manager said he liked Mayberry's approach against Hudson. The daily decision will be made using matchups, Manuel said.

Mayberry and Rollins were the lone holdovers from last season's opening-day lineup.

Delmon Young (ankle) is scheduled to play three innings in right field Tuesday in an extended spring training game, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. . . . Larry Greene Jr., the Phillies' top pick in the 2011 draft, will open the season in extended spring training. "He came in overweight," Amaro said, "so we're trying to get him into playing shape."