As goes Rollins, so go the Phillies

The Phillies were a paltry 11-15 in the month of June, with just one win at home. They were swept by theToronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves (although two of those games came in the first two days of July).

They won just two series the entire month, one at the beginning in San Diego in which they swept a reeling Padres team and one at the end of the month in Toronto.

In 22 games during the month of June, shortstopJimmy Rollins had 97 at bats, 16 hits and four walks for a batting average of .165 and an on base percentage of just .204. He had just three homeruns, nine RBIs, and one stolen base.

Then the Mets came into town. In the three game series at home Rollins had five hits, one homerun, five RBIs, three walks and two runs scored. The Phillies swept their rival to the north with victories of 7-2, 4-1, and 2-0.

Rollins led off on Friday with a double, his first hit in eight games. Shane Victorino followed his double up with a single, moving Rollins to third.Chase Utley then singled to right, scoring Rollins and what would be the eventual winning run. Rollins would add two RBIs in the third with a double to center.

Rollins had a similar affect on Saturday’s game. With Paul Bako on first and Pedro Feliz on second in the bottom of the fourth inning, Rollins knocked in the eventual winning run with a base clearing double to deep center. He would draw a four pitch walk in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing Victorino to knock in Bako for an additional run.

Rollins led off Sunday’s series finale with a homerun off the Mets’ Johan Santana. It was Rollins’ 30th lead off homerun of his career. That homerun would be all the offense the Phillies would need, as Joe Blanton,J.C. Romero, Chan Ho Park, and Brad Lidge would allow just four hits for the shutout victory.

Despite my personal belief that Jimmy Rollins is not a good leadoff hitter, and never has been, it is clear that he is still the engine that makes the Phillies’ offense run. When Rollins scores a run, the Phillies are 30-7; when he does not score a run, they are just 10-27.

Rollins career batting average of .274 and on base percentage of .329 are below that of what a true leadoff hitter should be, but no one else on the Phillies has true leadoff numbers either. Victorino’s numbers are better than Rollins at .285 (AVG) and .346 (OBP), but he is not a very good situational hitter and tends to struggle from the leadoff spot. Jayson Werth is another guy with good speed and a higher on base percentage than Rollins (.357), but his power potential makes him a loss at the top of the lineup. Similarly, Chase Utley has a career batting average (.298) and on base percentage (.380) significantly higher than Rollins, but his value is in the middle of the lineup, not at the beginning.

Therefore, for better or worse, the Phillies are stuck with Rollins at the top of their lineup, which is great when Jimmy has it going. Unfortunately, Rollins is not as consistent as you would want your leadoff hitter to be. Hopefully, this recent four game hot streak is a harbinger of things to come. Goodness knows, the Phillies need it.