Lost in his own head
If Charlie Manuel was going to sit him down for five days, if he really wanted him to clear his head, he should have sent Jimmy Rollins on vacation.
Hawaii. China. The North Pole. Anywhere away from baseball. Because sticking him at the end of the dugout and letting him ruminate about his slump, which has labored on for nearly half a season now, didn’t do the trick. Rollins is more lost in his own head than ever.
Since he’s been back, the Phils shortstop is 0-for-8, although he did walk once. Including the days leading up to his benching, he’s 0-for his last 27. And you knew a few days into his break, when Rollins said, “I’m just trying to stay positive,” that Manuel’s move wasn’t working.
“Trying to stay positive” meant Rollins was still pressing. He was still mentally stuck, still too close to the situation, still tense, still without perspective.
Lately, he’s trying a different approach at the plate — trying to be more selective, trying to be fundamentally sound — but it’s all forced and discombobulated. Football may be physically brutal, but Rollins’ psychological black hole is the brutality of baseball.
In real life, there are no breaks, no sit-downs for a few days. You just put one foot in front of the other and keep going. The best thing for Rollins now is to just leave him in there and let him keep going.
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