Check.
Can show confidence by continuing to pencil him in night after night, game after game, no matter how much he struggles.
Been there, done that.
About 2 1/2 hours before last night's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field, Manuel played his last card. He asked Rollins, who is hitless in his last 19 at-bats, to stop by his office. Told him he wasn't going to play last night against the Rays and probably not tonight at Toronto, either.
Told him to relax. Told him he didn't have to set foot on the field if he didn't want to. All but invited him to grab a beach chair and a rum drink with a little umbrella in it, kick back and enjoy the ballgame.
This will no doubt please those who have been clamoring for Rollins to be benched or bumped from the leadoff spot until further notice, but Manuel doesn't manage by opinion poll or with one finger raised to see which way the wind is blowing.
Every indication is that Rollins will be back at the top of the order sooner rather than later. And that once he's there he'll stay in that spot - for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer - for another good long while.
Like it or not, agree or not, that makes sense when a few of Manuel's unshakable beliefs are considered.
That Rollins is the best leadoff hitter the Phillies have.
That Rollins is most comfortable hitting first.
And, perhaps most importantly, that Rollins is simply too good to not snap out of his funk.
This is hardly a unique situation, by the way. Less than a month ago, Red Sox fans were convinced that David Ortiz was toast. Through the first 47 games of the season he was batting .186 and had just one home run. The media openly speculated about moves that general manager Theo Epstein might be able to make to find a designated hitter to replace him.
In his last 17 games, going into last night, Big Papi was hitting .340 with six homers and 15 RBI.
