New chapter in Jimmy Rollins saga
by Scott Butler 6/30/09
The Jimmy Rollins saga continues today, as Jimmy will retake his place atop the Phillies lineup. There has been much discussion around town about whether not Charlie should have sat him for four games and whether or not he should return to the leadoff spot. We will see if it worked soon enough.
I happen to agree with Charlie's decision. Jimmy has been so bad for so long and Charlie has put him lower in the lineup before and it did not work. Rollins was so immersed in the situation, I think this short break might have really cleared his head and allowed him to rethink his approach. We all know that Jimmy wants to be a lead-off hitter and can be a real force when he is hot. If the Phils are going to win this year, we need Jimmy hitting #1, so let's fix this now.
I have never felt that Jimmy was a good lead-off hitter. J-Roll gets way too few walks, swings at the first pitch too much, loves to swing for the fences and refuses to hit the ball on the ground. If you don't like it, too bad, because that is the way it has been and that is the way it will be.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that he was different during his MVP season. He was the exact same player, but just had much better results. He was just on fire that year, and most of his fly balls left the park. So if you praised him then, you have no right to bash him now.
It would be nice to see Rollins make a concerted effort to hit the ball on the ground and take more pitches but J-Roll is still probably too stubborn to change his approach. All we can hope is that he gets his swing back.
Regardless of your thoughts, Jimmy Rollins is the sparkplug for this team. His teammates constantly say, "As Jimmy goes, we go." Time to get going, Jimmy.
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