After perceived lack of hustle, Rollins meets with Manuel
MILWAUKEE — The loudest sound in the visitors clubhouse at Miller Park hours before Thursday's game was the echo of bat meeting ball from an adjacent room. There, Jimmy Rollins worked. He hit a ball off a tee for some 20 minutes while teammates watched TV and lounged.
After perceived lack of hustle, Rollins meets with Manuel
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MILWAUKEE — The loudest sound in the visitors clubhouse at Miller Park hours before Thursday's game was the echo of bat meeting ball from an adjacent room. There, Jimmy Rollins worked. He hit a ball off a tee for some 20 minutes while teammates watched TV and lounged.
Upon arriving at the ballpark, Rollins was summoned to Charlie Manuel's office for a meeting. At times, Rollins said, there was laughter.
"We have two rules: Hustle and be on time," Manuel said. "We'll see. That's all I have to say."
Manuel was not enraged enough to yank Rollins from Wednesday's game after not running out a grounder to shortstop. They did not chat following the 9-2 loss to Miami. After the pregame talk Thursday, Rollins appeared at the top of Manuel's lineup.
"I'll handle it," Manuel said. "And if I don't handle it, that's my fault."
Three team sources, each of whom requested anonymity in respect for Manuel, believed it was a larger problem that no player in the Phillies clubhouse chided Rollins for his mistake.
"That was terrible," one of the sources said.
Another noted Rollins has done similar things in the past that were easier to overlook with the team's success. Headed for a long winter, there is more criticism.
"Winning kills all," that source said.
Rollins agreed with that sentiment.
"Those things only come about when you lose, and that's the truth," Rollins said. "Nobody said nothing the day before when you win, or when you go from first to third on a ground ball up the middle, or when you score [from first] on a ball hit down the line. So you take it with a grain of salt."
Rollins, calm and relaxed Thursday, indicated there was a problem before he stepped to the plate in the sixth inning Wednesday.
"I was just upset before I even got up there," Rollins said. "I was already out of it. Mentally just upset."
Why?
"It's nothing to be talked about," he said. "It's not an excuse."
Asked if he regretted it, Rollins said, "Sure."
Manuel said there is no use in singling out one player for a lack of hustle. He has benched Rollins for similar situations in previous years. The manager estimated "75 to 80 percent" of players don't run at times.
"Every time I watch a game I see it," Manuel said. "But at the same time, that gets old after a while. You don't have to accept it."
He believed his intended message was understood.
"Everybody is going to hustle. That's my job. That's for the integrity of baseball. That's for respect for the manager, the players and the organization. Everything. No matter who you are."
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Until next time.....— Al n SD- Golly Gee, everybody knows that Rollins is lacking in established discipline methods at the plate. He has a lot of natural talent but he could do a lot better. I hate to see him first swing and swing for the fence and pop up. I was sorry to see him re-signed. We should have cut the cord last year.
- When an infielder knows that a player with speed who always busts it down the line (like Pierre, Reyes (ugh), etc. they know they have to get the ball to first quickly. You can get on base with errors created with spped and hustle. If it's a catcher, most pitchers or a guy known to jog, you take your time.— Philliesguy
- Crazy times these days... Jimmy doesn't hustle that's a news flash. I suspend him for 3 games. Generally he only hustles when he wants to not all the time. I'd trade him in the off season— missurichie
- Who is going to take a 245 hitter who plays when HR feels like it and makes 11 mill a year? — Ssteve115
- This strikes me as an establishment writer needing something to write. Non story. Hustle is when you do it every play. JStroll runs fast when he thinks he might make it. He could be benched every game if the standard was hustle. Notice in his remarks he doen't actually think it means anything...Practice!? we're talking bout practice! Hustle?! we'r talkin bout hustle...not the HR trot...hustle.— dlauver1
First of all, MANY have been talking about lil jimmie Popup's non-hustle all season. So lil jimmie's illiterate "nobody said nothin'" is a flat out lie. Second, the alleged sports journalist should have caught that and stated it was a lie, rather than forcing civilians to do his job. Third, it is the job of the "manager" to manage his subordinates. But here, hitting guru Magoo again displays his cowardice by blaming other members of the roster for not disciplining lil jimmie the way the guru should have. Fourth, the laughter in the office means that lil jimmie has Magoo's blessing for his overpaid laziness, as does his place still in the lineup and at leadoff.
But other than that, it's a fine story, worthy of competition with the Daily News waterboy.
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- The silly, old fool can't train his dog not to sh*t all over the house. What can anyone expect he can do with a former MVP?— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- Fantastic analogy. — coloradoeagle
- Hard to believe Manuel would actually confront Rollins. You sure they weren't talking about the hit record The Hustle by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony? I hear Cholly used to cut a mean rug during his time in Japan...— mr.chuck
- Rollins doesn't hustle on any ground ball or pop up hit to the infield. This has gone on for as long as I can remember. He is an embarrassment to himself, the manager, his teammates and the fans. He is a cancer to the team, and has a negative impact on the young players like Brown. This is why he should not have been resigned.— jicook
- If the manager had balls he would bench him. But guess not— Ssteve115
- Yeah, Cholly will handle it. As best that I can remember, he's only bench J-Stroll once and that was in 2008. The fact that he didn't pull him out of the game immediately after his jog to first shows he's either afraid of Jimmy or has completely lost the team. And the fact that no one said anything to him just shows there is no leader on this team.....remember...as Rollins goes, so goes the Phillies.— jimyd0315
- Yeah, he had a meeting with Jimmy after he read and heard all the reactions from fans. The time was last night to replace him when he failed to run that ground ball when the game was close. Then he failed to break the DP in the 8th. He did it twice to his father figure. Then they both had a meeting today and Jimmy obviously convinced him not to sit him or that he wasn't going to do it again. Jimmy likes to call fans front runners and them fails to hustle in front of the same front runners who help pay for his salary. What a joke of a manager.— EL Zorro
- The Hillbilly is an embarrassment.He was in the right place at the right time, not unlike Danny Ozark. It's time to move on.— Johnnyboyl
