Bowa to Phillies: Retain Rollins

READING - There is a possibility that we are entering the final 3 months of Jimmy Rollins' tenure as the Phillies' shortstop. The little kid from Oakland who became a man right in front of our eyes as the catalyst for the most successful run in Phillies history is a free agent at the end of the season.

The guy Rollins supplanted as the best shortstop ever to play for the Phillies thinks letting Rollins walk would be a mistake.

"In my opinion, they better sign him. Jimmy can still play," Larry Bowa said. "I said this winter that he was going to have a monster year and he's playing his butt off right now. You just can't say that, 'Hey, we'll get somebody else.' I think it's important they sign him."

Bowa was in the region the other day taking part in Hall of Fame ceremonies up in Reading. He was inducted into the R-Phils Hall of Fame in 1988 and honored similarly by the major league Phillies in 1991. He's currently an analyst for MLB Network.

"They've got some decisions to make," he continued. "They got Rollins. They got Cole Hamels. And they got [Ryan] Madson. Those are big-time decisions. Hamels, obviously, they're going to take care of. Ryan Madson, when he's healthy, is going to be the closer. And Jimmy is the shortstop. Those are big decisions they have to make."

Bowa, of course, is the only other Phillies shortstop to taste championship champagne. With the trade deadline approaching, Bowa figures the Phils have enough talent to win the division title and possibly enough to win the whole salami. However . . .

"Their long-range goal is to win a World Series," he said. "Another hitter in that lineup would help out a lot. But I don't think it's [crucial], because their pitching has been unbelievable."

Bowa's last job before TV was as a coach for Joe Torre and the Dodgers last year, before the messy Frank McCourt situation became downright toxic.

"It's not disappointing to see, it's embarrassing," Bowa said. "To me, they are the Yankees of the West. To see what's going on out there is not very good for baseball. There were a lot of things you could see, but I didn't think they were in bankruptcy. I did know they weren't spending a lot of money, but I didn't think they were going to go through bankruptcy. It's not fun to watch."

- Ed Barkowitz