There is more than one Phillie who is looking to have a bounceback year. Ryan Howard is coming off of two injury-plagued seasons. Ben Revere is hoping to come back strong after missing half of last season with a broken foot. Today, we focus on one of the Phillies leaders since he broke into the big leagues full-time in 2001. Since 2007, the Phillies shortstop hasn't had an average over .270 and has been benched multiple times for lack of hustle.
“Sometimes you have to re-establish yourself and this would be a great year for that,” he said.
Coming off of a season hitting just .252 while scoring only 62 runs (he has scored 100+ in six seasons, most recently 2012), 2013 was also a year where Rollins stole just 22 bases, the third worst of his career. Rollins is looking to re-establish himself this season. The Phillies skipper is impressed with J-Roll thus far.
“He’s in excellent shape. You can tell he worked hard this winter. I think he’s having fun and enjoying the program. I told him his goal should be to score 100 runs and he’s on-board with that.”
Rollins seems to be reacting well to the Sandberg regime, which is a new experience for the whole team.
“You can feel that positive spirit. Everywhere you turn somebody is pushing you in the right direction. Not that it wasn’t there before. It’s just new.”
Jimmy is a positive influence. Going into his 14th year with the Phillies, he is clearly the team leader and he embraces that. He took that role after he stated the Phils to be the team to beat in 2007, when he won MVP, and helping lead them to the World Series in 2008. Buying into the new system in huge for a guy like this, who has his first manager, Larry Bowa back in camp to keep him and the entire team conditioned and motivated.
As for last year, depsite the team's struggles, Rollins never stopped trying.
"I never stopped playing. It's just that nothing is on the line. You're never going to stop competing because as long as the pitcher is on the mound; you're not going to embarrass me. I'm not out here for my health. I'm still going to try to win."
Obviously you play the game to win. While Rollins' body language doesn't always show us what we want to see, the grind of a 162-game season on a 13-year veteran will take its toll. After two years having to watch the postseason on TV, Rollins seems like a player poised to bounce back and bring the Phillies back into contention.
Amid trade rumors last season, Rollins said he would not waive his no-trade clause because there were things he wanted to finish #1 at in the Phillies organization. Not too many people responded well to that comment, but he clarified his words.
"I could say I've got work I need to do. I could say I've got records I need to break. I could say I want to win another World Series or two. They (the fans) would love that because it's said the way they want to hear it. But we weren't going to win a World Series last year, so I couldn't make that statement at that moment. It doesn't matter how it's said. I really don't plan on putting on another uniform."
Fair enough Jimmy. That being said, I don't necessarily think saying that was the best thing to do when the season was already coming unglued. I didn't really care too much about it. It seemed more like a quote that he gave the media to feed off of for a while. Honestly, I don't think it is worth looking into, even though he is very close to catching Mike Schmidt on the Phillies all-time list in hits. Rollins enters the season in 4th with 2,175. He trails only Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty (2,211), Richie Ashburn (2,217) and Schmidt (2,234). 60 hits is all J-Roll needs to be at the top of that list, so we can only hope that those hits pile up beyond 60 en route to a better season.
Moving along…like with Ryan Howard, the Phillies win with Rollins in the lineup more than they lose. 2013? That may have been a fluke according to Jimmy. After an 89 loss year, not too many people are predicting the Phillies to do much damage in the NL East.
"Honestly, a lot of it is just the way people view the organization. We were the first to lose 10,000 games. We have a long history of not winning. We just had a stretch of winning, but that's still going to be the perception. Then you have an organization like the Yankees. If they make two moves they're the best team in baseball again. But it's perception. It's always good to be favored, but when you're not …"
It is truthful. Especially as of late. Personally, I don't really think of the 10,000 loss plateau or the years before the team won five straight NL East Titles and had a parade down Broad Street. I am all about the history of the Phillies, but it is right now that matters and the Phils need their veteran leader to bring back a winning atmosphere to Philadelphia. It won't just take him, it will take the whole team. Can it be done? He thinks so, but on one condition.
“From the first pitch of spring training we have to make sure we stay on the same page. If we do that we’re going to be good.”
One of the big talking pieces over the past few years, more so now, is whether Rollins can still hit lead-off. With Ben Revere healthy, he would be the likely candidate to lead off. That doesn't mean J-Roll won't get a look in that spot. He is more open to it as well with the addition of Revere.
“Once we got Ben, I was like, ‘All right,’ “ Rollins said. “I don’t really care where I hit. With Ben, it allows me to be flexible.”
Let's take a quick look at the numbers. In the lead-off spot, where J-Roll has been most of his career (1,438 games to be exact), he has a .272/.330/.775 career line.
“Jimmy is a candidate to lead off,” Sandberg said. “He can also hit second.”
Batting second, where Sandberg said Rollins could hit, his line drops to .257/.312/.693. If the Phillies want Rollins to produce, put him in a place where he has succeeded. Though he doesn't have as much time spent in the bigs, Ben Revere does hit better second than he does lead-off. He hits .270 in the lead-off spot, while he holds a .311 average second. I am sure there will be plenty of switches between the two speedsters at the top of the lineup. Numbers aside, I would be surprised if Rollins led off with Ben Revere on the team.
The success of 2014 lies whole-heartedly on the Phillies core of aging players, primarily Howard, Utley, Ruiz and Rollins. Dom Brown had a breakout year, Ben Revere is coming back and you have Cody Asche, who broke onto the scene last season. Let's not forget about Marlon Byrd, who is coming off a hell of a season with the Mets and Pirates.
Jimmy…your thoughts on the lineup potential?
“Print the lineup out,” he said. “That’s pretty damn good.”
Let's just hope it's just as good on the diamond as it is on paper.
Brandon Apter is a contributor to Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
