Phillies stick with SS despite NLDS struggles
His identity was perfectly clear in each of the previous six seasons. Jimmy Rollins was the Philadelphia Phillies’ shortstop and he was their leadoff hitter, the catalyst for a team that has reached the playoffs every year since 2007 and won the past two National League pennants.
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It is not that way anymore. After an 0-for-4 start in the Division Series against Cincinnati on Oct. 6, Rollins found himself batting sixth for the Phillies two days later in Game 2. That’s something he did just four times during the regular season. Between 2004 and 2009 Rollins led off in 85 percent of Philadelphia’s games. So after a season filled with injuries and a 1-for-17 effort through the first four playoff games, had manager Charlie Manuel’s confidence in his shortstop evaporated?
“I got a lot of faith in [Rollins] and I stand there and pull for him,” Manuel said. “I know how good he can hit and I know how good he wants to be up there. I’ll stay right with you, son. I’ll go down with you.”
Manuel could afford to crack a joke or two after Rollins’ effort in Game 2 of the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night. He drew a walk in the first inning that forced in a run, reached on an infield single and put the game away with a three-run double in the seventh inning.
“You figure things out. You solve problems,” said Rollins, who played in a career-low 88 games thanks to hamstring and calf injuries that lingered throughout the season. “Sometimes there’s going to be confusion. But once you lose the confidence you’re not going to have a chance to play at this level.”
Sunday’s game doesn’t mean Rollins will bounce right back to the leadoff spot. Manuel put him at No. 6 in the first place because he’s a switch hitter in a lineup heavy with left-handed bats. Plus, the 31-year-old hasn’t played enough yet to find his old swing. But Rollins has seen more pitches each of the last two games after watching video to figure out his mechanics and how pitchers are attacking him.
“You try to make that adjustment by feeling what you’re doing incorrectly,” Rollins said. “Sometimes you put a good swing on a ball, find some gap and everything looks fantastic. Hopefully I can take what I did and just keep it going.”
