Jimmy Rollins

Jimmy Rollins must have been really broken up over not making that U.S. Olympic baseball team. The Phillies' shortstop of the future learned of his fate late Wednesday afternoon, several hours before taking the field at Lackawanna County Stadium for that night's game between the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons and the Buffalo Bisons. All Rollins did in the game was drive in five runs with a grand slam and a sacrifice fly, helping the Red Barons overcome an 8-0 first-inning deficit in posting a 10-9 win. Can you imagine what he might have done if he had made Uncle Sam's team?

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Spring is a great time to scout hitters and pitchers, but it is also a great time to scout Charlie Manuel, especially when it comes to the topics that might prompt a blowup or two from him during the regular season. We've already detailed one such topic, his contract situation. On Tuesday, the Phillies manager revealed another when he reacted testily to a question about whether Jimmy Rollins was still his leadoff hitter. It's a query that Manuel has fielded numerous times since December, when his front office acquired speedy centerfielder Ben Revere from the Twins.

ATLANTA - Most of his Phillies teammates had exited through the rear door in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field for pregame stretching and batting practice when Jimmy Rollins grabbed his last belongings and headed that way, too. The starting lineup was posted on the door. "I hadn't even looked," Rollins said to a small group of reporters as he walked out. "I haven't made it past my locker. " Even though Ryan Howard and Chase Utley were in the middle of the lineup, unlike last year on Opening Day, Rollins' name was not at the top of the batting order.

JIMMY ROLLINS has been in the Phillies organization for almost half of his life, but he remembers the early years, when manager Larry Bowa and coach John Vukovich cost him sleep. But the early wakeup calls were beneficial into making him the most prolific shortstop in the history of the franchise. Rollins was announced as the 2012 winner of the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award at short. The Gold Glove is the fourth of Rollins' career and his first since 2009. Only two players in Phillies history have won more: Mike Schmidt (10)

Maybe it's the masochistic overtones. Maybe it's the butt-slapping bonhomie. Whatever it is, it works. "It's hilarious," Cole Hamels said. "It's pretty funny," said fellow Dick's Sporting Goods shill Ryan Howard. It's Jimmy Rollins' commercial for Dick's, in which the Phillies shortstop hypes the new Nike Air Swingman Remix cleats. In it, he is hit by six baseballs shot out of a pitching machine into his chest and gut. Between impacts, he explains to a pair of star-struck adolescents that baseball is about performance, not comfort.

Inside Brad Lidge's locker was a book written by the Dalai Lama titled How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life . A blue pen served as a bookmark. Lidge is reading it for an online religion course. The Phillies' closer is a man of faith. And even during outings such as his 30-pitch save of a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, which prompted manager Charlie Manuel to suggest merely watching could cause a heart attack, Lidge remains positive. "You don't know exactly how it's going to end," the righthander said, "but you know it's going to end right.

The grown-ups would always smile and tell the young boy he had to wait. Wait until the game is over and then you can swing the bat yourself. Wait until practice is finished and, after you pick up the balls that lay like dandelion blooms across the outfield, then you can field some grounders, too. So, Jimmy Rollins would wait, but that didn't mean he liked it. Rollins grew up waiting for the ballplayer in the family - his mother, Gyvonnie -...

Citizens Bank Park was half empty when the Phillies finally won Sunday, probably because these fans too often have seen games like this one evolve into a horror show. The nightmare fuel is a tie game, an open bullpen door, and extra innings. So there was satisfaction in the Phillies clubhouse after a 4-3, 12-inning victory over San Francisco - no matter how close to irrelevance the team stands. Above the field, where general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and his lieutenants sit, the same feeling likely existed for far different reasons.

ATLANTA - Jimmy Rollins dashed to meet his teammates for stretching at 5 p.m. Monday and almost forgot his red Phillies hat before his 13th straight opening day as the team's shortstop. In 10 of those seasons, Rollins was the first Phillies player to hit. This time, the lineup was different. "Actually," Rollins said, "I haven't even looked" at it. Rollins knew, though. He batted second for the first time in nearly nine years. His leadoff spot belonged to Ben Revere. The move was somewhat surprising.

Jimmy Rollins is a member of Team USA again. The Phillies shortstop has agreed to play in his second World Baseball Classic, which means he will be away from the team's Clearwater, Fla., training site for most of spring training. Rollins will be the Phillies' lone representative on Team USA, which announced its provisional roster Thursday. He is also the only shortstop on the roster. When Rollins played for Team USA in 2009, he split time with the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter.