The morning after: Rollins is on base
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The morning after: Rollins is on base
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- And now we rest.
It's April, so that means off days in baseball to account for possible bad weather. Monday's first-pitch temperature was 78. Today it is supposed to reach the high 80s here in D.C. So much for that.
So the Phillies rest today, knowing Monday was just about as perfect of an opening to their quest for three consecutive National League pennants as possible. Roy Halladay was spectacular. Placido Polanco eschewed all the criticism from outside the organization about his signing and fulfilled the prophecies everyone around the Phillies predicted.
But I was most impressed with Jimmy Rollins.
Here is the 31-year-old shortstop whose best days are probably behind him. He came to camp with 2010 goals like stealing 50 bases, scoring 150 runs, hitting .300 and notching 200 hits. Lofty, at best.
On opening day, Rollins went 2-for-4 and reached base four times. He walked twice (one was intentional before a Polanco grand slam in the seventh).
Consider this: Jimmy Rollins walked two times in a game exactly four times in 2009. Four.
Three of those four two-walk games came in the first 12 games after Rollins' four-game mental break at the end of June last season. Over those 12 games, he hit .340 with a .456 on-base percentage. He walked two more times (10) than he struck out (eight).
We know this much to be true: Jimmy Rollins is not a prototypical leadoff hitter. Never has been. Never will be. Rollins' .292 on-base percentage in 2009 ranked second to last in the majors among players with at least 300 plate appearances as a leadoff hitter.
And this was one game, opening day against a flawed Nationals pitching staff. But as colleague Bob Brookover notes, Rollins didn't have a two-hit game until April 21 last season. He didn't have a two-walk game until May 12.
None of his preseason goals mentioned on-base percentage. Rollins won't say he needs to walk more or see more pitches because he says it's not the way he plays the game. He walked in 6.1 percent of his at-bats in 2009, well below the major-league average of 8.9 percent. And he's a leadoff hitter.
Here is the crazy part: Rollins still scored 100 runs with a .296 on-base percentage in 2009. In the MVP season of 2007, his on-base average was .344 and he scored 139 runs, a career high. Can he get back to that point? Likely not. But if Rollins' on-base percentage is closer to his career average of .329 than the .296 he put up in 2009, the Phillies lineup is that much better.
Rollins is the engine of this team. When he's on base and playing well, the team has a totally different dynamic.— Philth- Also encouraging: one of the at bats that Rollins was out on, he was caught looking on a very borderline 3-2 pitch. it's only one game, but it looked like Rollins was trying to lay off borderline pitches. I have no problem if he's swinging first pitch, as long as that pitch is a strike.— phatti
- J-Roll, you ARE the man!!!— djlaclave
- I'm not sure Rollins best days are behind him. He appears to work hard at keeping in great shape, and continues to have great range and speed. He should be at the peak of his career now.— Chadds Ford
- I'm with you Chadds Ford, I think he's still in his prime, especially defensively.— celtic_13
- If anything, he is one or two years into the backhalf of his career, but if there is any decline in talent or ability, it's slight and still allow him to play above average. I think Charlie needs to give him a few days off this year, just for rest, and let him hang out on the bench and be a jokester and keep the mood light for the team, and he'll reach a few of his goals. He's going to get his at-bats anyway, and when he's smiling and enjoying himself, he plays better.— Bleue
I've been very adamant that Rollins has no business in the leadoff spot, while Victorino is tailor-made for that role. One game against the Nationals isn't going to change my mind, but if Rollins gets back close to his MVP year numbers, I'd be very happy to admit I was wrong. Here's hoping.- 150 runs is possible... that would be awesome— JesseH
- David Herndon. Never pitched above AA---had an error behind him, and got out of it by himself. We MUST find a way to keep him on the roster. (get rid of Contraris??)— MJSI
- Why can't he learn to become the "prototypical" leadoff hitter? He has all the tools. He just needs to apply himself. Maybe now that he's on a team where each player knows how to play the game the right way, he'll learn too? If Jroll wants to be a HOF'er, then it's time to take the next step......of "tablesetter". He has the unique set of tools to maybe do it better than most anyone with the possible exception of his idol, Rickey Henderson. If Jroll does even half of what Rickey did, he'll join him in Cooperstown one day, because of his superb defense with Gold Gloves, MVP status, AS games and World's Champion brotherhood. Come on Jimmy...will you do it for me, for us, for your teammates?— Mark1npt
- Herndon throws one meaningless inning against a terrible team and suddenly Jose Contreras is deemed unworthy twice in one day on the comments of different blogs. Fabio Castro pitched a couple of meaningless successful innings when he was a Rule 5 guy also. Doesn't mean he was any good.— B in DC
- Going 2-4 vs Washington the worst team in baseball is hardly a gage of how he will do this year.— lgdoran
- J-Roll is in his prime. 31 years old is not old or over the hill Matt. What I like is when he puts pressure on himself, by predicting something or setting some personal goals, he's at his best. It gives him extra motivation.— EL Zorro
- I agree we shouldn't get too worked up over 1 game but it was a good start. Both his single leading off the game and his drive to the right centerfield gap where hit absolutely on the nose. I think Rollins needs to be even less of a prototypical leadoff hitter now that Vic changes the last third of the lineup to present more RBI opportunities. Think of Vic as the secondary leadoff hitter and JRoll hitting clean up!— vafan
- JRoll looked as fluid and strong as ever playing defense. He and Chase turned a double play so silky smooth it was like poetry. It was the one after Polanco and Chase's. Anyway, Rollins glided across the bag taking the slow flip from Chase, fired to first and effortlessly avoided the takeout slide. I think Matt Gelb was just trying to add drama to the article by saying JRoll is on the downside of his career. He clearly is still at the top of his game. Glad Ruben already picked up his 2011 option.— vafan
