“It wouldn’t really make sense to keep me in a position down in the lineup where my game is speed when I’m on.”

-Jimmy Rollins, May 12, 2009.

I guess Charlie is supposed to just wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more for Jimmy Rollins to start getting on base consistently and set the table for the Phillies’ lefthanded run producers.

Jimmy stated that he would bat .400 in May, but so far that prediction has been not nearly as prescient as some of his other prognostications in the past. He is batting a less than robust .171 in May with a .209 OBP.

According to Jimmy, though, he’s a leadoff hitter and that’s where he belongs.

Kudos to Charlie for not giving a shit what Jimmy thinks and putting out a lineup that he thinks will work vs. a lineup that will keep his slumping shortstop happy.

History shows us that Jimmy does well when it’s him vs. the world. Rollins was batting .266 before calling Phillies fans “frontrunners” in August of last year. His batting average after he came home from the west cost trip that included his controversial TV appearance was .307 for the rest of the season.

So maybe tweaking Jimmy a bit isn’t such a bad idea. Either way, Charlie has a responsibility to find ways to increase production if it’s lacking. His job is not to photocopy the previous day’s lineup card just because someone thinks they are a leadoff hitter, or the cleanup hitter, or the 3 hole hitter.

Jimmy Rollins has 1 lame stolen base year to date. Which is 2 less than Jayson Werth got in one freaking trip around the bases tonight in a 5-3 win over the Dodgers. Werth had 4 stolen bases in all, including a heads up swipe of home plate. Beerleaguer is right; Werth is terrific.

Let’s hope Jimmy was watching. And taking notes. Once he starts hitting like we expect him to, he needs to figure out how to use that speed he was chirping about and get himself in scoring position. In his MVP season in ’07, Rollins averaged .85 runs scored per game. Last year, he came back down to earth with .55 runs scored per game. Through 28 games in 2009, he was at .50 runs scored per game. Not exactly the trend you’re looking for from the guy who swears he’s a leadoff hitter.

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Posting will be non-existent until the beginning of next week as I’ll be out of the country celebrating 10 years of marital bliss with Mrs. Shibe Times. Go Phils.