sportsjabber.net

Over the past two or three seasons, Jimmy Rollins has not been the guy at the plate the Philadelphia Phillies need him to be.

Instead of playing small-ball and just trying to get on base, Rollins has been acting like he’s a power-hitter and swinging for the fences every time he picks up the bat.

This has become evident not only in his batting average, but in the way the Phillies have approached who they put behind him in the No. 2 slot.

Shane Victorino caught a lot of flack when he was hitting behind Rollins, but a lot of Victorino’s problems seem to come from pressing at the plate because he felt he needed to make up for Rollins who had just gotten finished popping out to shallow center.

Since Rollins’ MVP season in 2007 in which he hit .296, his batting average has dropped to a good-but-not-great .277 in 2008, then completely plummeted to .250 in 2009 and most recently .243 last season.

Those are the numbers of a backup infielder who plays in 40-50 games a la Wilson Valdez, not a former MVP like Rollins.

Valdez, by the way, hit .258 in Rollins’ absence last season.

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