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This week has been a big one for Phillies radio interviews. Not long after an interview in which Larry Bowa ripped the Phillies for their lackadasical play, Bowa's 1980 Phillies teammate Pete Rose also hopped on 97.5 the Fanatic. Yesterday, during the Mike Missanelli show, Rose spoke about the Phillies' current state. Just the mention of one Phillies player was enough to make Rose give a passionate response.
Rose vented when Missanelli suggested that Rollins would not accept a trade until he achieves some Phillies records:
Here’s a guy that’s worried about Philly records and not Philly championships. How is it gonna change his life if he gets more hits…he’s not gonna get more home runs than Mike Schmidt got, he’s not going to get more RBIs than Mike Schmidt got. So when he says he’s looking for Philly records, what Philly records is he talking about?
Barring injury, it is likely that Rollins will surpass Mike Schmidt for the Phillies' record for hits. But Rose had much more to say of Rollins beyond just a record. To Rose, Rollins is a "problem".
Rollins has always been a problem as far as I’m concerned. He’s been a very good ballplayer but he could never figure out did he want to be a leadoff hitter. Did he want to be a second-place hitter, did he want to be a home-run hitter? I think the worst thing that ever happened to Jimmy Rollins was winning the MVP. I think that’s the worst thing to ever happen to him. He has just never figured out where you’re going to hit him in the lineup to get the most out of Jimmy Rollins.
Rose's criticism did not end there. He also seemed to be disappointed about
Sandberg was a real good player. He was a strong willed player. I know that he's not a yelling type of manager…A team will take on its manager's personality. If it's a laid back manager, you'll have a laid back personality. The players will see that if it's OK for the Manager to be laid back, then you'll have a laid back team.
Rose thought that Larry Bowa could have helped with the fire, but of course, it is not Bowa who is manager.
Listen to the whole interview here on 97.5 the Fanatic's website.
