The Phillies' manager wanted to discuss a number of issues, not just Jimmy Rollins' late appearance and subsequent benching Thursday afternoon in New York.

"Something's missing on our team," Manuel said after shutting the doors of the clubhouse and talking to the team for 20 minutes before last night's loss to the Atlanta Braves.

But if Rollins wasn't the reason for the meeting, the National League's reigning most valuable player surely saw his situation on the agenda, right there between the lines of Manuel's plea for the Phillies to regain "the little extra kick" and get "that shine back."

Manuel figured that a scuffling team spending its first day out of first place since May 31 needed to hear some of his homespun baseball wisdom before the opener of a weekend series with the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

But the timing might have been telling. Manuel gathered the troops just 24 hours after Rollins sat for all but the last out of a pivotal loss to the Mets in a disciplinary measure stemming from his late arrival at Shea Stadium.

Asked about the meeting before the game, Rollins turned to reporters on his way out of the clubhouse and said, "When the doors are closed, that meeting stays in there."

Rollins received polite applause, with a slight murmur of boos, from the sellout crowd of 45,114 when the shortstop was introduced before his four at-bats last night.

He was 0 for 4 as the Phillies lost for the fifth time in six games, 8-2.

Sitting in the dugout after the meeting, Manuel said the Phillies' sluggish play in recent weeks, and not the Rollins situation, was the impetus for the manager's decision to gather the team and clear the air.

Still, Rollins is hitting .266, with just six home runs and 35 RBIs in 320 at-bats. And he is the guy who showed up late Thursday, who was benched by Manuel on June 5 for not running out a pop-up, and who ran at less than full speed from first base on Shane Victorino's two-out double in Sunday's 3-2 loss in Florida.

Rollins also is the guy who expressed his displeasure with Manuel's disciplinary action after Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Mets.

Asked for his reaction to Rollins' comments, Manuel said: "I didn't see what he said. I didn't read the papers today. I figure it was a good day not to see the papers."

Manuel spoke at length in the dugout after the meeting, voicing both his concerns about his team's play and his confidence that things would turn around.

And while Manuel was painting with a broad brush when he noted the Phillies were "missing that little extra kick," he also made it clear that a rejuvenated Rollins would mean a rejuvenated Phillies.

"He can get right," Manuel said. "He's that type of player. He has that kind of swing. Lately, he has been swinging better."

Last season, Rollins batted .296, hit 30 homers, and had 94 RBIs.

Manuel also talked about his decision-making process. While not specifically mentioning his decision to bench Rollins for the second time since June 5, Manuel clearly was talking about delicate, internal team issues such as disciplining an MVP.

"I definitely try to take time to think things over instead of just reacting," Manuel said. "I've got to think things over, and I want to make sure that I get things right. But when I do something, it's because I thought I was right.

"I don't look back. I look ahead. That's what I did and that's what I thought was right."

Before the game, Victorino said he thought the Rollins situation was overblown, especially the part about Rollins' being upset with Manuel's decision to bench him.

Victorino also said he didn't think the benching was the reason for yesterday's meeting.

"In regards to that, the manager felt one way and rules are rules," Victorino said. "That's more of what it was about than a Charlie-versus-Jimmy thing."