Bob Ford: Rollins gets cheers, Phillies get Mets next Posted on August 26th
When Jimmy Rollins came to the plate in the second inning last night, two out and runners on second and third, the crowd grumbled at him again, just as it had since the shortstop returned last week from his fabulous performance on The Only Damn Sports Show That Would Hire John Salley Period.
Rollins had done little to quiet them in the interim, batting .086 after his criticism of local fans for the sin of being fans.
Accurately, it must be said, but nevertheless.
Rollins didn’t seem to notice the reception one way or the other. He settled in, waited for a pitch he liked from Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley, and lined it into left-center field.
Not only did the front runner score, but the other guy, too.
And Jimmy Rollins got a standing ovation, which goes to prove that change takes place quickly in baseball and that today’s cheer always drowns out yesterday’s boo.
“You win, they’ll forgive,” manager Charlie Manuel said.
It’s a lesson worth remembering tonight when the Phillies come back to work against the New York Mets, still a half-game behind them in the official standings of the National League East but creeping toward a solid lead in the Momentum Division. That’s a fickle league, particularly for a team as streaky as the Phillies, but a couple of wins against New York might actually mean something by the end of things.
Despite a win against the Astros, the Mets had a bad news day yesterday. They put starter John Maine on the disabled list because of a bone spur in his right shoulder, and he might be gone for the season. Combine that with the absence of closer Billy Wagner and the faltering nature of the entire bullpen, and the Mets are a staggering team.
It might not necessarily look that way when Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana pitch tonight and tomorrow, but if the Phils can get decent pitching of their own and find a way to burrow into that New York bullpen, then not only is yesterday gone, but maybe last year’s pecking order, too.
The Phils ended up winning the division in 2007, but needed a monstrous collapse from the Mets to allow them to do so. Cutting it that close isn’t recommended, and with a little help this week in both the real standings and the imaginary ones, maybe it won’t be necessary this time.
“Last year, [the Mets] had a big lead, and I think they kind of thought they were a much better team than us,” Manuel said before last night’s 5-0 win over Los Angeles. “This year, all the games have been close. Even though they’re 9-4 against us, it’s been close. We know we’re definitely capable of beating them.”
They hoped that was the case last season, but it wasn’t ultimately clear until the final day, when a Phillies win and a Mets loss provided the single-game margin.
“We only got to enjoy being in first place for one day,” Manuel said. “Then it was three and out. That kind of sticks with you.”
That’s a regret to be addressed later, however. First, there is the small matter of the 31 games remaining in the regular season.
If they play them like last night, with good starting pitching and bunches of hits, they can beat any team on any night - even a night when the wind gusts in from center and a team that usually relies on home runs can’t lift the ball from the playing field.
Rollins ended up with three hits against the Dodgers, and the grumbling came to an end, at least for this night. Brett Myers had his seventh straight good start since returning from the minors, and the horrors of June have been forgotten, at least for now. The Phillies have won eight of their last 10 since a sweeping loss at L.A., and now they are just fine, at least that’s the way it seems.
But the only thing that can change tonight is everything.
The hitting can become cobwebbed again, the pitching spotty, and the Mets can right themselves up from their stumble.
“They’re going to play like hell against us,” Manuel said. “Even if we feel we can beat them, we’ve got to play them good. We’ve got to play them better than they do. These are big games for us, big opportunities.”
But last night’s cheers, just like last season’s final standings, won’t help.
“Last year’s dead and gone,” Manuel said, sounding, as always, like a man reciting a country song. “Today’s what counts.”
And don’t forget tomorrow.
Contact columnist Bob Ford
at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.
Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/bobford.