Rollins far from MVP form this year

Here's a good read I love J-Roll but how dare he call us front-runners with the season he's having? 1. MVP-pffft: Philadelphia's season is perilously close to going south, the Phillies having flopped out west. And as they wobble into their final 38 games attempting to catch the Mets and hold off the Marlins in a remarkably mediocre NL East, their 2007 MVP has been seen only in rare flashes. Last summer, shortstop Jimmy Rollins set an NL record for runs scored by a shortstop (139). This summer, he's barely on pace for half of that (73). Even more noticeable was Phillies manager Charlie Manuel yanking him from a June 5 game against the Mets when Rollins didn't hustle to first base on a popup that was dropped. And Manuel's benching him for a July 24 series finale against the Mets when Rollins arrived late to Shea Stadium. Last season, Rollins promised an NL East title during spring training and practically threw the Phillies onto his back while leading them to it. This season, the most noise he has made came last week when, on a national television program, he called Philadelphia fans "front-runners." That ought to play well when Rollins and the Phillies open their latest crucial homestand Tuesday against Washington. You wonder: Is the Phillies' fade and the unusually erratic behavior of their leader related? Even a wee bit? No, insists Manuel. "We handled that," Manuel says. "We have two rules: Be on time and hustle. If we've got rules, we've got rules -- and that applies to the manager, too. What the hell, I don't think that has nothing to do with it." No, says Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. "I didn't see any effect on us as a team," Utley says of that loss July 24 to the Mets. "We have a mature group of guys here." Rollins' 2008 got off on the wrong foot, so to speak, almost immediately, when he badly sprained an ankle on April 8 in New York (yes, Mets games have been exceptionally eventful for Rollins this season). He missed 28 games before returning. "I'm not satisfied with my production," says Rollins, whose .266 batting average, eight homers and 42 RBI are all down from last year's .296, 30 and 94. "I've always driven in more runs, and I've always scored more runs. My stolen bases are where they always are (He's fifth in the NL with 31, and he leads the NL with a 96.8 percent conversion rate.) "As far as the other stuff, it happens. I'm not the first one it's happened to, and I won't be the last one. "I'm probably not the only one on this team it's happened to. But I'm the one that got busted. I'm not pointing fingers." He accepts responsibility for loafing on that June popup and agreed that his benching was deserved. As far as being late to the park in New York in late July, he says he left the hotel when he always leaves and got caught in horrendous traffic. Though he and Manuel both say they're fine with each other, Rollins still doesn't think he deserved to be sat down that day. The heck of it is, he says, while driving back to the hotel with reliever J.C. Romero the previous night, despite a 6-3 loss, Rollins had a key RBI hit mid-game and everything was positive. "In the car with J.C. I was saying man, it's finally starting to come back to me," Rollins says. "And then, the next day, bam! "It was the same thing at the beginning of the season, I felt good for three or four days and then, bam! I hurt my ankle. Every time something good happens, or I'm starting to feel good. ..." Bam! It's part of the game, part of the deal, as every player will tell you. If it was easy, everyone would have terrific 162-game seasons. But it's not. And you can't always control what happens on the field. But everyone can control the two things Rollins' manager asks: Be on time, and hustle. "If the rules don't apply to me, or to (closer Brad) Lidge, or to (Ryan) Howard, or to Utley or Jimmy, then why have rules?" Manuel asks. "I tell them I only have two rules. And then if there's something I see I don't like, I'll make 'em up as I go along." What has killed the Phillies more than anything as they've slipped back behind the Mets into second is the surprising and prolonged silence from their lineup. Over their past 11 games, the Phillies, who went 2-5 on their trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, are hitting .197 (70-for-355). Since June 13, the Phillies had hit an NL-low .236 and scored an average of only 4.07 runs per game. Only San Diego (3.98), Cincinnati (3.93), Washington (3.73) and San Francisco (3.5) have averaged fewer runs during that stretch. Not only is Manuel puzzled, but the Phillies overall have reached the point where they'll even accept tips for hitting coach Milt Thompson to implement. Enlisting the National Guard can't be far behind. "I'll listen to what anybody says -- fans, cab drivers, President Bush, anybody," Manuel cracks. Being that the Phillies are winning 73 percent of the time when Rollins, their leadoff man, scores a run this season (30-11) -- they won 66 percent of those games last year (67-34) -- maybe it's as simple as Rollins showing up to the park on time, staying in the lineup and hustling.