I don't want to get into intangibles v. numbers blah blah blah. I just want to say that Jimmy Rollins does some things very well--he's an outstanding baserunner, not just fast but smart. (Smart is the intangible, but I think it shows up in not getting caught stealing, etc.)

Second, there's always been the question concerning whether he's suited to leadoff--ideally, you'd like him to walk more. However, the fact that he hits a good number of extra base hits in some ways compensates for not walking. And, of course, he doesn't lead off every inning either.

I don't understand the amount of articles Conlin has written on J-Roll this season. It's almost like he does it on purpose to rub it in the face of us people trying to say that a guy can actually have a good season without a good OBP. Whatever Bill.

Uncle Milty wrote:Stuey, just finally admit you were wrong about Rollins and his contract.

I have said that he has played up to his contract. At the time he was being paid more than he should. But he has played a LOT better than he was then and salaries have skyrocketed. Does Wade get credit for this?

Jimmy's had seven consecutive multi-hit games. His OBP is up to .350. He's leading all of Major League Baseball in total bases. He also leads the Majors in outs (tied with Mr. Pierre). Has anyone ever led MLB in both categories before?

Denny Hocking was on Fox Sports Radio yesterday and he called Jimmy his NL MVP because he's been the one constant that has held the team together through all of the injuries.

I think if Jimmy ends up with a line like .300 BA, 30 HR, 30 SB, 140 R, 95 RBI and leads the league in extra-base hits and total bases, he's going to garner serious MVP consideration.

Jimmy Rollins' numbers in the last 365 days:

Code: Select all

PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF  ROE GDP SB CS   BA    OBP   SLG   OPS
789 723 138 212 42 19 31 102  50   6  85   7   0   9   7  11  33  6  .293  .341  .533  .873

92 extra-base hits! That's insane for a leadoff hitter.

he's not even the best SS in the division, and his EQA isn't even above .290. Utley, Burrell and Howard are all higher

Years ago they used to love those "field general" types for MVP, those catchers ands shortstops who were always keeping other players aware of the situation, spurring them on at tense times and fielding their important positions well. Gradually (and thankfully) the voting for this award has gotten away from this and instead rewarded those who clearly contributed to more tangible goals, such as scoring more runs than the other team, although there remains an inexplicable (to me) attachment to players who participated with winning teams, even though it's an individual award. And "leadership" or other intangibles still play a part. I can remember being incredulous when when Stargell won the co-mvp despite underwhelming statistics.

But I'm not sure the needle hasn't drifted too far in the other direction, with the top MVP candidates simply being the top OPS producers . Shortstop and catcher do merit extra consideration and defensive prowess should certainly be a consideration (and I'm not certain that when you take this into consideration that Ramirez is necessarily superior to Rollins, although I'd certainly take him in a trade straight up). And I do think the role the player plays in the team dynamic should also be considered. I like Burrell, but I consider Rollins to be a more irreplaceable player whatever their EQA's, and in some ways , although not overall, more irreplaceable than Howard or Utley.

All this is a long-winded way of saying that while Rollins would not be my choice for MVP, if he should have a ridiculous September I wouldn't consider it a travesty in any way, shape or form.

Rollins

pacino wrote:he's not even the best SS in the division, and his EQA isn't even above .290. Utley, Burrell and Howard are all higher

He's clearly having a better season than Reyes or Renteria and I think his defensive edge over Ramirez gives him an argument that he might be the best all-around shortstop in the division this year.

As for his EQA and its comparison to Utley, Burrell and Howard, it doesn't matter. They're all having good seasons. It's just that for the type of player that Rollins is, he's having a truly outstanding season.

THis isn't really historic, but an interesting tidbit about Rollins, courtesy of Baseball Musings.

Rollins is fourth in the majors in Runs Scored plus Runs Batted In, and is the only leadoff hitter in the top ten.

I know it's not likely yet, but if the Phillies make the playoffs, I think you have to call Jimmy Rollins the NL MVP.

Side note: If that blown call from the other night costs Jimmy his 20-20-20-20 season, I'm gonna be pissed.

Drugs Delaney wrote:I know it's not likely yet, but if the Phillies make the playoffs, I think you have to call Jimmy Rollins the NL MVP.

Side note: If that blown call from the other night costs Jimmy his 20-20-20-20 season, I'm gonna be pissed.

I think you do. Anyone else shouldn't.

Tonight Jimmy broke Ernie Banks' long-standing National League record for extra-base hits in a season by a shortstop when his second double of the game gave him 84 extra-base hits on the season. Banks had 83 in 1957.

Drugs Delaney wrote:Tonight Jimmy broke Ernie Banks' long-standing National League record for extra-base hits in a season by a shortstop when his second double of the game gave him 84 extra-base hits on the season. Banks had 83 in 1957.

even with the ton of pa's jimmy gets, that's pretty impressive.
scaling sandberg's best year up to jimmy's pa's still leaves the former at 82.
by the way, i somehow missed sandberg becoming jimmy's #1 comp the last couple of seasons. he might be able to add a couple more hof's to his top ten comp list after this season. what a year.

Drugs Delaney wrote:I know it's not likely yet, but if the Phillies make the playoffs, I think you have to call Jimmy Rollins the NL MVP.

Side note: If that blown call from the other night costs Jimmy his 20-20-20-20 season, I'm gonna be pissed.

If the Brewers win the Central, I think Prince Fielder is the MVP. If the Brewers don't win the Cetnral and both the Phillies and Mets make the playoffs, I think Jimmy wins over David Wright.

Goomeister wrote:

Drugs Delaney wrote:I know it's not likely yet, but if the Phillies make the playoffs, I think you have to call Jimmy Rollins the NL MVP.

Side note: If that blown call from the other night costs Jimmy his 20-20-20-20 season, I'm gonna be pissed.

If the Brewers win the Central, I think Prince Fielder is the MVP. If the Brewers don't win the Cetnral and both the Phillies and Mets make the playoffs, I think Jimmy wins over David Wright.

WAIT - WHAT? I didn't know you posted on topics other than whatever it is you do?

VoxOrion wrote:

Goomeister wrote:If the Brewers win the Central, I think Prince Fielder is the MVP. If the Brewers don't win the Cetnral and both the Phillies and Mets make the playoffs, I think Jimmy wins over David Wright.

WAIT - WHAT? I didn't know you posted on topics other than whatever it is you do?

we're talking career years here; of course Goo's weighing in on the big stuff.

Refreshing to hear that 3b man up at my end of I-95 even has competition... it, like so much else, will be a major surprise to metez fans :roll:

Yep, still an historic season. He's up to 86 extra-base hits. There's all sorts of combinations of counting stats that Jimmy has put up this season that are unmatched in the history of baseball.

Would it be fair to now categorize Jimmy as a power hitter?

Drugs Delaney wrote:Yep, still an historic season. He's up to 86 extra-base hits. There's all sorts of combinations of counting stats that Jimmy has put up this season that are unmatched in the history of baseball.

Would it be fair to now categorize Jimmy as a power hitter?

Doesn't power hitter imply that he doesn't hit for average? His average isn't outstanding, but I prefer to call him a hard hitting infielder. If you call him a power hitter, aren't you also implying he's not a great fit for lead-off? He's not a prototypical high obp lead-off guy, but because he often ends up on 2nd base, he scores a lot of runs, which makes him a valuable lead-off hitter.

Phan Paul wrote:Doesn't power hitter imply that he doesn't hit for average?

I don't think so. I think it only implies that he hits home runs and has lots of extra-base hits.

Phan Paul wrote:He's not a prototypical high obp lead-off guy, but because he often ends up on 2nd base, he scores a lot of runs, which makes him a valuable lead-off hitter.

I absolutely agree with this. I don't know where to find this stat, but he has to be among the league leaders in runs scored to times on base ratio. He's one of those guys who scores lots of runs by getting himself into scoring position either through extra base hits or his baserunning skills. He's one of those guy who doesn't need a high on base percentage to score lots of runs because he brings other skills to the table. Rare skills. I just checked on baseball-reference and Jimmy is just the second player since 1901 to score 130+ runs in a season with an OBP under .350. Maury Wills in 1962 (104 stolen bases) was the other. Wills also won the MVP that year. Coincidence?

Chris Wheeler's head may explode over this comment from Jim Callis' ESPN chat:

Luke (Miami): Reyes or Rollins?

Jim Callis: (2:59 PM ET ) Rollins.