Jimmy Rollins starting to hurt the team
by Scott Butler 6/6/09
What do we do in Philadelphia when things are going well? We find something to complain about. And that is exactly what I will do here. No sooner did I call Jimmy a Hall of Famer than I say he is damaging the team.
After replaying last nights heartbreaker to the Dodgers in my head, I do not see Pedro Feliz dropping the ground ball or Lidge giving up the game winning hit. The lasting image in my head is Jimmy Rollins leaving one man after another on base. It seemed like anytime we had someone on base, it was two outs and Jimmy at the plate.
Jimmy is normally the guy we can count on to get a big hit when we need it. But this year he can't buy a hit. This year he is hitting .209 with runners in scoring position. The Phillies players always say, "As Jimmy goes, we go." Considering that Jimmy is batting .219 this season with an on base percentage of .259, it is amazing that the Phillies are 32 - 21 with a three game lead over the New York Mets in National League East.
53 games into the season, you begin to wonder if this is just a slow start by Jimmy or something we should be extremely worried about.
The Phillies might be sitting pretty for now, but if we are going to go anywhere this season we will need Jimmy to go, too.
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