Time to adjust the goals for Jimmy Rollins
Before the start of the season Phillies shortstop stated he had a couple personal goals for himself, which would ultimately benefit the team of course. They were to steal 50 bases, score 150 runs, and record 200 hits during the regular season. Sadly those marks are next to unreachable at this point as Rollins has missed 31 of the team’s 87 games.
For the sake of posterity let’s take one final look at the Jimmy Rollins Goal Tracker before the second half to the season starts up tonight in Chicago.
In addition Rollins stated that he would like to hit .300 for average. With a career high of .296 that was not completely out of the question. Rollins got off to a great start but since coming back from his lengthy stay on the disabled list Rollins’ batting average has diped to .254 for the start of the second half of the season.
In the unlikely event that Rollins does reach these previously stated goals then Phillies fans are in for one hell of a second half like none ever seen before. But let’s be realistic. Rather than cling to these numbers let’s adjust the goals for the second half of the season.
Stolen Bases -16
Given that Rollins has stolen three bases in his 31 games played, he has an average of 0.1 stolen base per game (rounding to the nearest tenth). If Rollins plays each of the team’s remaining 74 games that would put Rollins on pace for 7 stolen bases in the second half, and ten for the season.
If Rollins is in good form then I think we can expect a little more out of the franchise shortstop. Would 13 second half stolen bases be too much to ask for? He has stolen at least 30 bases in each of his full seasons with the Phillies excpt for 2003. His numbers are in a bit of decline in recent years but I still believe that Rollins has what it takes to record 15 stolen bases for his shortened 2010 campaign.
Let’s see him shoot for 13 stolen bases in the second half, giving him 16 for the season.
Runs Scored -51
Rollins has scored 18 times this season, coming out to an average of 0.21 runs per game. At that rate Rollins will cross the plate just 15 or 16 more times this season. That is a scary thought if you ask me. I think that if the offense stays on the right track and doesn’t go dry like they did most of the summer we will see more Rollins runs.
Having Ryan Howard heat up at his normal rate in the second half will help, as well the return of Placido Polanco. If Jayson Werth can get back to what he was doing in the beginning of the season I see no reason to not expect to see Rollins score 30 runs in the second half.
I may be setting the bar a bit high here, but I’m putting Rollins’ goal at 33 runs in the second half. That would be a little over a run every two games for Rollins. That would give Rollins 51 runs for the season, which would still be below his average for runs per game through his career.
Total Hits -112
At the break Rollins has 30 hits, just under one per game he has played. His career average is 1.15 hits per game so we’re not too ar off here. Assuming Rollins hits more for his career average for hits per game you can reasonably suggest he will have 86 hits in the second half of the season. That would ensure Rollins his tenth straight season of 100+ hits. He currently only needs 70 to reach that mark.
I will meet you somewhere in the middle and set the bar at 112 total hits for the season. That means Rollins needs to record 82 more hits in 75 games.
Your Take
Let me know what you think about these numbers. Are the adjusted goals too high? Too low? What do you think is a realistic goal for Rollins in the second half? Let me know and if enough people voice an opinion that a number should be changed I will consider it.
Original Story:
http://machorow.us/2010/07/15/jimmy-r...
