PHILADELPHIA – There aren’t many players in Phillies uniforms anymore who were there when Larry Bowa last occupied the manager’s office in 2004.
Chase Utley was a rookie brought to the majors in May, and he split time at second base with Placido Polanco. Ryan Howard was a September call-up who hit just two of his 311 career homers with Bowa as his boss.
Jimmy Rollins, however, was there for it all. He was a fun-loving 22-year-old rookie when Bowa first arrived in 2001. Rollins was an All-Star in each of his first two seasons under Bowa, and while the irascible manager rubbed many the wrong way, he and the protege who would go on to break so many of his Phillies team records at shortstop had a bond that remains.
These days, Rollins is a 34-year-old husband and father who is having a season as individually disappointing as the team’s wayward performance has been. Even a surge over the last eight games (13-for-30, .528 on-base pct.) has his average at .252, while most of his production numbers (60 runs, 38 RBIs, six homers) are likely to mark career-lows among his 12 full big-league seasons.
One person who believes Rollins can rebound and earn the $11 million he’s due in 2014 is Bowa.
‘Jimmy still has a lot of baseball left in him,’ Bowa said. ‘You have to keep the volume up (with him). Sometimes he likes to lower the volume. The volume is definitely turned back up (recently). I can see a big difference.’
When Ryne Sandberg took over as interim manager, he put in some stricter rules when it came to arrival times at the ball park – something that hasn’t always been Rollins’ strong suit. He also offered some criticism about Rollins’ approach at the plate and the need for him to adapt.
‘I don’t even know if they talk,’ Bowa said of Sandberg and Rollins, ‘but I see a difference in the way Jimmy has played lately. Ryno hasn’t said a word about whether he’s talked to him, but I’ve been watching Jimmy and I see a difference in Jimmy.’
Bowa agrees that the team’s lackluster play and collapse in the few weeks after the All-Star break might have caused Rollins’ enthusiasm and focus to sag. But he thinks the veteran has to get over it.
‘You know, he’s been very lucky. Even when I was here, we were .500 or above (as a team),’ Bowa said of Rollins. ‘It doesn’t happen like that (for most players). You don’t play on winning teams every year.
‘To me, the mark of a good player is (playing intensely through a bad season). What, they are 18 games out? You still have to post up. It’s hard to play like that, but you still have to do it. It’s easy to play when everything is going good. It’s fun to play like that. When you’re 18 games out, you have to kick it in, and it’s hard sometimes.’
Bowa believes Sandberg can help Rollins and the rest of the team reclaim that level of intensity.
‘I think what he’s trying to do is get these guys to focus on the game and preparation,’ Bowa said of Sandberg. ‘He’s a fanatic about preparation. He likes preparation. And preparation isn’t about coming out here and taking 10 ground balls. Even if you’re in the clubhouse, he’ll make you think about what’s going to happen that night. He’s big on that.’
