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And now the traffic is bad.
Manager Charlie Manuel benched Jimmy Rollins before yesterday's 3-1 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, which left the Phillies out of first place in the National League East for the first time since May 31.
Manuel benched Rollins because he had shown up late to the ballpark. It was the second time this season that Manuel benched him. He also did so on June 5 after the shortstop failed to run out a fly ball against Cincinnati.
"Well, we're not going to agree on this one," said Rollins, last year's National League most valuable player. "I agreed with him last time, but we're not going to agree on this one. I think he understood that, and I understood it. But he's the manager. He has to set a precedent for certain players, and you're expected and held up to those rules, and that's fine."
Rollins said he had left the team hotel in Manhattan about 10 minutes after the team bus left for Shea Stadium, which is in Queens. The bus arrived after 10:30 a.m., and Rollins arrived around 11 for the 12:10 p.m. game.
Both the bus and Rollins hit traffic en route to Shea.
Traffic or not, a team rule had been broken. Players are expected to arrive at the ballpark no later than the last team bus.
"That's one of our rules: Hustle, and be on time," said Manuel, who called Rollins into his office before the game. "That's all I've got to say about it."
But those close to the situation said it seemed unlikely Manuel had benched Rollins simply because he was a few minutes late. Rollins wasn't the first player to show up late this season.
Instead, the benching could be an accumulation of things: appearing late yesterday without a telephone call; appearing late once a few weeks ago, although Rollins notified Manuel with a call; not hustling on June 5 (Rollins acknowledged that Manuel had warned him about his lack of hustle); and a post-MVP malaise for Rollins, although Manuel wouldn't address specifics.
Rollins is hitting .269, with six homers, 35 RBIs, and just 42 runs scored, although he missed a month because of a sprained ankle. His batting average is 27 points lower than last season's, and his slugging percentage is 101 points lower.
"It's unfortunate, but rules are rules," said yesterday's starting pitcher, Jamie Moyer, who gave up just two hits in seven innings. "I commend Charlie for standing up to the rules that he has. I think we all need to be accountable to that.
"Each team has their own rules, and they play not only for their managers and their coaching staff, but they play amongst their teammates. I think you create who you are in the clubhouse and on the field by the way you act and the way you carry yourself. So I'm sure it's something that probably won't happen again. You know, life goes on."
Life hasn't been easy lately for the Phillies. They are 13-20 since June 13, when they were a season high of 13 games over .500. They have looked lifeless since.
"Something's not in tune," Manuel said. "We need to pick it up. I don't know if it's not [being] hungry enough. . . . I haven't really put my finger on it. I don't know how to explain it to you. All of a sudden, we don't have that extra kick. We don't have that kick like we used to have."
They need to get it back, and Manuel would like Rollins to lead the way as he did last season.
Read Todd Zolecki's Phillies blog at http://go.philly.com/pzone
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