Time for J-Roll to Move Down

Jimmy Rollins had another spectacular game at the plate last night in Tampa Bay, going 0-4 and dropping his average to a meager .211 on the season. Rollins is in the midst of a 6-for-46 slump and not showing any signs of life, having gone hitless since last Thursday against the Blue Jays. Since June 1st he has drawn only four walks as the leadoff hitter for the Phils, his first walk not coming until June 18th! Are you kidding me!? Isn’t your leadoff hitter supposed to get on base? Isn’t he supposed to be the spark plug for your offense, to get things going from the top of the lineup? Shouldn’t he be drawing a few walks here and there? This brings me to my real question: Why does Jimmy Rollins have to be the leadoff hitter of the Philadelphia Phillies?

Let’s take a step back and look at Jimmy’s stats this season compared to the rest of the leadoff men in the NL East, less the Nationals:

2009 SEASON: AVG OBP SLG OPS HR RBI SB
Jimmy Rollins .211 .254 .328 .582 6 27 10

Nate McLouth .259 .340 .466 .806 12 45 10

Jose Reyes .279 .355 .395 .750 2 15 11

E. Bonafacio .240 .289 .290 .578 1 18 13

Look at the bolded stats – aside from Bonafacio his OBP is about 100pts less than the other two, SLG about 150 less and OPS 150+. I don’t care about the HR’s or RBIs, that’s not what he’s there to do. Jimmy’s job is to get on base and get his team going - the longer he spends in the dugout the worse off the Phils will be. Sure he’s secured that spot for the last 9 years or so, but maybe it’s time to mix things up. Where is it written that he must bat leadoff for the Philadelphia Phillies? Shane Victorino has proven he’s capable of filling in for Jimmy at the top of the lineup, look at his numbers: AVG .305 OBP .371 SLG .462 OPS .833. I think it’s a no-brainer.

I’m not saying I don’t want Jimmy in the lineup, just not at the top. I appreciate everything he has done for the Phillies in the past, MVP, Golden Gloves and the like, but I don’t see how that relates to the 2009 season. Jimmy Rollins has been the heart and soul of the Philadelphia Phillies for the last decade and will continue to be that guy into the future - I just hope it’s not in the No.1 position on the lineup card. Read More