For 13 seasons, Jimmy Rollins has been a dynamic, game-changing, sure-handed shortstop and hitter atop the Philadelphia Phillies’ lineup. But in the same 13 seasons, Rollins has countered his flashes of brilliance with lapses on the base paths, most notably not running out ground balls.
Rollins didn’t run out a ground ball out in the sixth inning of Wednesday afternoon’s loss in Miami. Two innings later, he didn’t make an attempt to break up a double play.
On Thursday, prior to the Phillies’ 7-4 loss in Milwaukee, Rollins met with manager Charlie Manuel regarding his lack of hustle.
“We have two rules,” Manuel told reporters in Milwaukee. “Hustle and be on time. We’ll see. That’s all I have to say. That’s between Jimmy and me. I don’t want it blown up real big. What I tell him is between him and (me). He should be running hard from now on. We’ll see.”
Rollins admitted he should have run out the ball in the sixth inning. He said he was distracted before the at-bat.
“I was just upset before I even got up there,” Rollins told reporters. “I was already out of it. Mentally just upset.”
Rollins wouldn’t expound any further on why that was the case.
“It’s nothing to be talked about,” he said. “It’s not an excuse.”
While Rollins said he regretted not running hard, he has been guilty of the same crime multiple times in the past, including instances when Manuel has pulled him from a game. Manuel didn’t pull Rollins from Wednesday’s game and also decided to keep Rollins atop his lineup for Thursday’s game following his chat with the longest-tenured player on the team.
“I’ll handle it,” Manuel said. “And if I don’t handle it, that’s my fault.”
Manuel also pointed out that Rollins is far from the only player in baseball who is guilty of not going 100 percent all the time.
“Every time I watch a game, I see it,” Manuel said. “But at the same time, that gets old after a while. You don’t have to accept it.”
Manuel doesn’t plan to.
“Everybody is going to hustle,” he said. “That’s my job. That’s for the integrity of baseball. That’s for respect for the manager, the players and the organization. Everything. No matter who you are.”