2008 Philadelphia Phillies Season/Playoff Thread (Die Mets Die)

[MDS]

jimmy is gonna get demolished. enough people dont read nerdy sports blogs.

[mpmcgraw]

Zolecki picked it up in his blog too. 

I will be there tonight.

Booing.

[MDS]

wow they are making way too big a deal out of this jimmy rollins nonsense

[PhillyPhreak54]

Whats even worse is all the cock hurt nancy's who are offended and whining about it.

OHMYGOD Jimmy Rollins called us frontrunners! I'm going to boo! I pay him money! My vagina hurts! Booooooooo to you Jimmy!

[MDS]

i dont know why but i was listening to a little eskin today and the people calling him were just going off about how much they hate jimmy and how mike schmidt annoyed them because he asked that they take off the pen cap before he signs something

people are just stupid and believe athletes are like their personal property, they should be catering their lives to fans all the time no matter what. moron country

[BigEd76]

0-3 with a DP so far tonight. He's getting booed hard

[PhillyPhreak54]

i dont know why but i was listening to a little eskin today and the people calling him were just going off about how much they hate jimmy and how mike schmidt annoyed them because he asked that they take off the pen cap before he signs something

people are just stupid and believe athletes are like their personal property, they should be catering their lives to fans all the time no matter what. moron country

Exactly.

Year before last a lot of people hated Jimmy. I used to catch shtein because I like him. Last year because he was MVP and his comments and the beating of the Mets they all wanted to blow him. Now he makes a comment and its like he raped peoples mothers and sisters.

What cracks me up is how offended people in Philly get offended by things like this. So much for a tough attitude.

What about when Fregosi said all of South Philly goes home and fargs their mothers? To me that's funny.

What Jimmy said doesn't deserve all this shock of oh my Jimmy said something bad about us. We're a buncha sissies. Let's cry about it.

The booing and the crying on radio and message boards has reached the point of enough.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Jimmy should still shut his stupid mouth and figure out why he's sucking this year.

[PhillyPhreak54]

For Phils' Rollins, unusual season of adversity

By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

Larry Bowa once called Phillies fans the worst ( expletive deleted) fans in the world.

Jimmy Rollins now has called them front-runners.

The two shortstops certainly have more in common than their observations of Phillies fans - both won Gold Gloves and made all-star teams, for example - but last week at Dodger Stadium, where Los Angeles swept the Phillies in four games, Bowa acknowledged one noteworthy difference between himself and Rollins.

"I was a good player," he said. "Jimmy is a great player."

But Rollins, the reigning National League most valuable player, is having an unusual season for arguably the greatest shortstop in franchise history. After he memorably proclaimed the Phillies the team to beat in the National League East last year - and backed up his words to become the first player in baseball history with 200 hits, 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season - he has dealt with adversity on and off the field.

Rollins enters tonight's series opener against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park hitting .266 with 8 home runs, 42 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.

His .333 on-base percentage is his lowest since 2003, when it was .320. His .431 slugging percentage is his lowest since 2005, when it also was .431. He missed 25 games because of a sprained ankle. He has been pulled from a game because he failed to run out a fly ball. He was scratched from a lineup because he showed up late to the ballpark.

Then last week, he appeared on Best Damn Sports Show Period and called Phillies fans front-runners, although he clarified later that he wasn't implying that the fans don't show up or don't care. He was saying that negative energy at the ballpark - specifically, booing a player before he steps into the batter's box or onto the mound - hurts more than it helps.

"We'll all find out on Tuesday," said Rollins, asked Saturday at Petco Park in San Diego what kind of reaction he expects tonight. "I'm more worried about what's going to happen tonight, really. All you have to do is win the game, and they'll cheer. They want a winner. We want to win. They'll cheer if we win. And if they don't, oh well."

But there's no question that while Rollins has been a lightning rod, he plays a critical role in how his team finishes the season.

He led the Phillies into the postseason last year. He can do it again. He just needs to rediscover his MVP mojo at the plate.

"I'm looking for it," Rollins said. "It's like, 'Man, what was I doing last year?' I've watched my highlight tape. I look at things and I'm like, 'Got it.' I come in here and try to repeat it. Sometimes it happens; sometimes it doesn't. But even last year, I was looking at myself going, 'OK, got it.' I'd go into the game and I was able to repeat it over and over and over and over and over. This year, I just haven't been able to repeat it over and over and over and over and over and over. That's the only difference."

Charlie Manuel said Rollins' effort has been there, especially lately.

"Jimmy's been hustling, if you've been noticing," he said. "Defensively, he's had some real good games. Yeah, he's been hustling. He does early hitting in the cage some days, and every now and then he comes out and hits early. Last year, he probably took early hitting, hell, maybe not at all. He's never done that. He's probably done more this year than he has in the past."

So what's been Rollins' biggest issue at the plate?

"Timing," Rollins said.

"I've been hitting with my foot in the air a lot. If the foot isn't down, you're not going to have a good swing. You're not going to see the ball. Anything you can put with a bad swing, that's what happens when your foot is in the air. Your timing is off. When your foot is down, you recognize pitches earlier. You see them better. You're able to make a better decision. And naturally, because you see them earlier, you can put a better swing on it. You have a better chance of doing something close to what you want to do with the ball."

Rollins insisted that this year's trials and tribulations haven't bothered him to the point that his play has been affected, although he still disagreed with Manuel's decision to bench him July 24 at Shea Stadium, where he showed up after the team bus. He thought he should have been fined instead.

Rollins said his ego hasn't been bruised because of it.

"I think it is hard being prideful when you have a younger brother and a younger sister," he said. "Your whole life is trying to lead the way and you have to share. Nothing is ever yours because you have to bring them in. That's part of it."

It is mentioned to Rollins that at least two of the most popular players in Phillies history - Bowa and Mike Schmidt - also expressed their candid opinions about Phillies fans, and took heat for it.

Bowa ripped the fans after a 15-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 29, 1980. He made an obscene gesture and told reporters afterward that those fans were "the worst [expletive deleted] fans in the world. Front-running [expletive deleted]!"

Schmidt told the Montreal Gazette in 1985 that Phillies fans are "beyond help." He described them as "a mob scene, uncontrollable."

"Sticking up for your team," Rollins said. "That's what it is."

Bowa and Schmidt overcame their comments because they won and performed on the field.

It will be no different for Rollins. If he plays well and the Phillies win, all will be forgiven

[ice grillin you]

say stupid shtein and play good = cheers
say stupid shtein and play zesty = boos

[MDS]

[SunMo]

phreak, why do you act like you don't understand this when you do perfectly

jimmy had been a bust this year already and then he rips the fans....oh, i wonder why he's getting booed.  yeah, those stupid fans, they get mad when a player rips them, SHOCKING

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Phils beat the Nats on a winning homer by Werth.  Lidge pitches a perfect ninth.  I'm bored.

[MDS]

the nats are basically a aaa team so good for the phillies for squeaking one out

[Rome]

I'd like to squeak one out onto Jessica Alba's luscious milked-up titties.







PS: Rollins has been alternately showboating and dogging it his entire goddamn career.  Why anyone is shocked that he's still doing both now when he's stinking up the joint is the truly hilarious element here.