Manuel Feels Brief Rest Will Benefit Rollins
Jimmy Rollins is back in the Phillies lineup Friday against the Chicago Cubs after getting most of the game off during Wednesday's 7-2 win at Arizona.
Manuel Feels Brief Rest Will Benefit Rollins
Jimmy Rollins is back in the Phillies lineup Friday against the Chicago Cubs after getting most of the game off during Wednesday’s 7-2 win at Arizona.
Rollins, who had started the first 18 games this season, entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.
Manager Charlie Manuel feels giving him a breather, in addition to the team’s day off on Thursday, will benefit Rollins.
“It will clear his head a little bit,” Manuel said Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Manuel said that Rollins has shown some recent encouraging signs.
“Actually, he hasn’t been getting many hits, but he has been hitting the ball good on the road,” Manuel said.
The Phillies manager said that he doesn’t believe having Rollins hitting third instead of leadoff has had an impact on his slow start.
“If you remember, this is not the first time he has gotten off to a slow start,” Manuel said.
Rollins is a career .266 hitter in March/April. This year he is batting .229 with no home runs and three RBIs. He has struck out 15 times, second on the team to Hunter Pence’s 18.
“He needs these last two days to hopefully get him off his feet, clear his mind and we are sticking him back there and seeing what he can do,” Manuel said.
Awesome contract
Comment removed.- Actually, it was a good contact, you dolts. Imagine if we wouldn't have re-signed him ... wouldn't that Nix, Orr, Galvis infield look phenomenal in the heart of the order. Freakin' arm-chair GMs.
- You're right. It's always a good idea to overpay for old guys with no bat discipline and sinking production that no other team was interested in
- put rollins back to lead-off he is NOT a 3 hole hitter why doesn't manuel know that by now?— only 9
- Small sample size DarNutz9.— johnny eagle
- First, let me say I love Jimmy's defense. Steady, superior glove that can always be counted on. However.......He's not a 3 hole hitter and he's not a leadoff hitter, either. He belongs down at 6-7. Second on the team in Ks? That is absolutely unacceptable. He should be spraying the ball to all fields, laying down bunts and beating out infield grounders for hits. But, he won't, he never has. He's too flashy, too cool and too self centered on how cool he looks in his HR trot to change. Amaro has to be loving that fact that he has 3 more years of this.
You need hunger, that's what drives players to achieve. Doc has it. Lee has it. Pence is always hungry. Ruiz, too. Now Paps, Qualls and a few kids. Jimmy doesn't look hungry. In fact he hasn't looked hungry in a long time (2008). This team lost it's edge, it's desire when it lost that feel good story of Chris Coste and that radical, hot headed beer swigging biker Brett Myers and a few other hungry characters like Bruntlett and Jenkins. As bad as they were, they were hungry, wanted to win and worked hard with the best they had to work with (admittedly in Bruntlett's case that wasn't much), but they succeeded. I see too much J-Loaf still. Smooth looks cool when you're hitting .290 and stealing 50 bases. It looks bad when you're hitting .220 and K'ing half the time. He should be embarrassed.— Mark1npt 
I wish I had written that, at least the Jimmy part, the team hunger part ,not so much. I agree with the strengths and weaknesses. Jimmy will do great as a commentator/ annalist when he is done but glad we still have his glove and there really was no better option with all things considered. He earned the money just not a guaranteed high spot in the lineup. Reyes in a Phils uni, nope.— DUDESKINS- The rest surely appeared to pay off, particularly in the first inning tonight when he fouled out meekly to the catcher with a runner at third and no outs.
Charlie, he of the .198 career batting average, is this supposed hitting guru, and yet he continually bats Rollins third. Mind boggling.— PhightinPhil - Comment removed.
- Rollins needed the rest. What a joke! Watching this team play ball is like watching paint dry. Getting runners in scoring position is a death sentence for them.— eaglesman1
- The rest helped Rollins pop out (foul) in the first inning with runners on first and third. Same thing he would have done if he didn't rest.— robertthomas
- They should rest him a couple more days. What's going to happen? His replacement hits a pop up. — Ssteve115
- Can we please hit this guy 7th or 8th where an undisciplined hitter with little power belongs?— lazyboy
- The Phils offense STINKS. The last place Cubs come in and look like world beaters. 11 Million for Rollins and he's hitting 216. A pop up with runners in scoring position in the first and a double play with one on in the 8th.
Charlie should close the door and let them have it. There's no frontrunnin here Jimmy...just calling them like we see them and the offense is embarrasingly bad. It's not easy to get 8 hits and score just one run.
The Phils don't deserve the starting pitching performances because the offense is getting paid for doing nada. What a bunch of overpaid hacks.— Fan74
