COULD JIMMY ROLLINS BE A YANKEE?

Living in Central New Jersey, only moments from the Pennsylvania border and about 40 minutes from Citizens Bank Park, I am surrounded by Phillies Fans.  I have stated a number of times that I am a baseball fan first, a Yankee fan second and a Red Sox fan last.  But second to last are the Phillies and it has always been that way, for as long as I can remember, but most definitely in more recent years since relocating to New Jersey from Staten Island.  Now the mere thought of Raul Ibanez coming to New York sickened me not because of who he is but rather who he played for.  I grew to really like Ibanez once they took the City of Brotherly Love out of the man and gave him a bite of the precious fruit of Big Apple.  But, Jimmy Rollins, now that is a completely different story.

I work next to an older gentleman, Russ Walsh (@ruswalsh) at a university who is not only a literacy specialist, but a baseball fan. Tonight, he is leaving for Clearwater, FL to catch some Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training games with a couple of his buddies.  I asked him about Rollins coming to the Yankees, as a fan of baseball and the Phillies.  “I think Rollins would be a good fit for the Yankees, but I would miss him in Philadelphia.  I have been following him as a fan for years,” said Walsh.  So, here’s a Phillies fan who would miss Rollins stating honestly about how he could fit the makeup of the new Yankee team.  What’s the chatter on social media about the idea of Rollins trading in his red pinstripes for blue ones?

According to MLB Forums, here are what the fans have to say:

“I like it. Mid-level prospect and Philly eats a boatload of cash.”

“Did you know you can literally take any player in baseball, put them into any position on the field, let them play for the Yankees, and they will have the best years of their career regardless of their age?”

“If you think Cano had problems hustling to first at times, I'd put Rollins ahead of Cano in that regard. Probably National League leader in that category, maybe MLB leader. Rollins has actually been benched for his lack of hustle but still did it anyways. I do not want Jimmy Rollins in pinstripes. This is a dumb idea.”

Rollins has been benched for the last three spring training games and he has been asking himself and his manager, Ryne Sandberg, why.  According to Comcast Sportsnet, “The Phillies are 3-10-2 after 15 games. Winning is not everything in spring training, but Sandberg has indicated he’d like to see some urgency, cleaner defense and offensive production from his team."

Rollins, meanwhile, has a prescription for chill pills. On Tuesday, he was quoted in the Daily News as saying, “Who cares?” when asked about spring training results. Could this lackadaisical attitude be why Rollins isn’t getting any playing time recently?  The Phillies skipper isn’t talking about it.  He has given no lip service to this and instead is focusing on playing his prospects and getting ready for what he hopes will be a productive season. 

So, would a healthy 35-year-old Rollins be a good fit for the newly, meticulously designed Yankee clubhouse?  I say no way!  We don’t need lackluster attitudes, drama or mediocre hustle on our team this year or frankly, any year.  We had enough of it last year.  And we don’t need the spotlight on Rollins when it needs to be on our guys and our captain.  So to answer the question could Jimmy Rollins be a Yankee?

My answer is sure he could be, but he shouldn’t be, ever.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



 
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