There's got to be a morning after. And when that moment arrived yesterday, it meant that such guys as Ben Francisco, Domonic Brown, Greg Dobbs, Brian Schneider and Jimmy Rollins got a chance to show what they could do.
Sounds funny to include J-Roll on that list, doesn't it? But while we can talk all we want about how meaningless the remaining games are now that the Phils have clinched homefield advantage throughout the postseason, there are still things they'd like to accomplish.
And right at the top of that list is trying to put Rollins in the best possible position to contribute when the stage gets a little bigger, the spotlight gets a little brighter and the stakes get a lot, lot higher.
Last night he played five innings of what turned out to be a 2-1 loss at Nationals Park on a walkoff homer by Adam Dunn. Afterward, he pronounced himself satisfied with his progress.
"I won't be 100 percent when the playoffs start," he said. "I won't be 100 percent until next February, probably. But I think I'm better and that I can play at this speed. That's what's most important."
He said he probably won't leg out infield hits, unless the game is on the line. He said he probably won't steal bases unless it's an absolute necessity.
After singling up the middle in the fifth, he peeled off rather than go in hard and try to break up the doubleplay when Raul Ibanez followed with a grounder to third. Part of the reason was that he probably wasn't close enough to influence the relay, which Ibanez beat anyway. And part was an acknowledgment that the last thing he wants to do is aggravate an injury or hurt himself all over again.
