Jimmy Rollins has had a tough season at the plate, tough enough that some people openly wonder if he'll get through the season as the Dodgers' shortstop. Even so, I had last night's game circled on my calendar, and had noticed about a week ago that it was coming up. After all, Jimmy was arguably the best Phillies player in the last twenty years, setting a team record for hits, making several All-Star Games, winning several Gold Gloves, winning an MVP, and yes, winning a World Series. Facing him as an opponent for the first time would be very weird.
The one thing we know about Jimmy is that he is prone to playing his best in the biggest spots, the proverbial "clutch" player that old-school fans talk about. If a game matters to him, he plays it very well. Last night, Jimmy made Phillies pitchers work (O'Sullivan threw 27 pitches to him over three plate appearances), and then capped off his night with a two-run, game-winning single. It was one of his better games of the season. Of course, Jimmy claimed it was no big deal:
“I haven’t thought about it, honestly,” Rollins said Monday. “There’s enough going on around here to keep me occupied. It’ll be good to see the guys. Obviously I’ve texted a few of them. A few of them return them right away, some wait a week or two. But, other than that, it’s another baseball game, honestly. Going there will probably be different, but coming here, they’re the team we want to beat.” Rollins said he is not following his former team too closely, but he certainly knows the Phillies have the worst record in baseball.
No Jimmy, this is the great thing about being a long-time star in a city- your fans know better. Jimmy Rollins played last night like it was a game he had circled on the calendar. He stepped it up a notch. It was classic Jimmy Rollins, shining brightest when the most eyes were on him. Of course Jimmy says he's not anxious to come back to Philadelphia either.
On being anxious for his return to Philly next month: “No. You guys know me. I’m not really anxious to do anything. It’s one day at a time, and whoever’s in front of us is who we play that night. Whatever’s going to happen, what it’s going to be like, as the time draws near, I’ll probably be more excited about it. I know I have a lot of family members going up there. My mom and dad. My mom. Gigi, said, ‘We’re coming up for that game.’ That’s going to be fun. It’s a place I spent my whole career with the exception of this year. I was there since I was 17 in the organization. It will be fun and exciting.”
I'd expect him to have about ten hits in the series.
