LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers would be lying if they told you they were sure Jimmy Rollins was going to be a force in their lineup at some point in 2015. He is 313 plate appearances in to his Dodgers career and batting .212 with just 22 walks. His strikeout rate has ticked up the past two seasons, evidence that his bat might be slowing down now that he is 36.
His MVP days are long since past. It's doubtful he'll ever make a fourth All-Star team and unlikely he'll win a fifth Gold Glove.
But the architects of this rebuilt team insist Rollins' value at the margins has mattered to this team, which has solidified its defense up the middle to a startling degree. Two seasons ago, the Dodgers' Opening Day shortstop was Justin Sellers, he of the .198 lifetime average. Last year, they endured Hanley Ramirez's awful play at shortstop.
Plus, there are times when they have benefited from a fresh set of eyes and a voice of someone other than a coach or the manager. Mattingly said Rollins' voice isn't loud, but it's one that "needs to be there."
"There are a lot of things you don't see with Jimmy. There are times he's walking to the mound to slow something down, the conversation he's having that I don't even know about," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Even at the times we weren't playing as well as we would have liked, Jimmy's always a good voice because he's won a championship. He's a guy who's been through a lot and played a long time and he's willing to speak up."
Monday night's 10-7 Dodgers victory was a refuge from Rollins' three-month-long grind, though the game itself was such a grind for everyone else that, when Mattingly saw a big contingent of media in the interview room after the game, he quipped, "You guys stayed for that?" He also noted the laborious pace of some of his pitchers and the four hours and 12 minutes the game took and said, "Those are the types of games that make people not want to come to games."
It's unlikely many people back in Philadelphia were still up by the time it all unfolded, but Rollins -- the Phillies' all-time hits leader -- twice had key hits to give the Dodgers late leads. He scored the run that regained them the lead in the sixth and he singled home two runs in the seventh. It was ugly, but the Dodgers' bullpen held on to it.
Before the game, Rollins insisted he has plenty of baseball left in his aging legs. He said he expects to perform better after the All-Star break and even insisted he plans on playing again in 2016. Of course, it probably won't be for the Dodgers, who have the game's best shortstop prospect at Triple-A Oklahoma City, Corey Seager.
"I've just got to hit a little better. The other parts are there. The second half, I have to go out there and prove it," Rollins said.
