Jimmy Rollins

It seems as if injuries are the storyline of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Chase Utley is still a few weeks from returning from the disabled list with his surgically repaired thumb, Jimmy Rollins was benched yesterday with a foot injury, and to top it all off, outfielder Shane Victorino was pulled in the seventh inning with a strained muscle in his left side.

It is quite obvious the Philadelphia Phillies are in a slump. A team riddled by injuries and inconsistency without an ignition towards change.

Despite getting an extra innings 2-0 win in St. Louis yesterday, where Cole Hamels shined, the team still showed the overwhelming stress that comes from being back-to-back National League Champions.

The Phillies have been plagued by non-existent bats that have turned consistent players like Jayson Werth searching for a way to right the ship.

MLB's second-half of the season is officially in full swing

Thus far, in 2010 is proving to be one for the books. With so many tight division races, fans will have plenty of excitement to keep them occupied.

The mystery is over.  No need to even have a vote.  We now know who the Most Valuable Player in the National League is.

It isn't Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, or Ubaldo Jimenez.  He plays in the National League East, but he isn't Hanley Ramirez, David Wright, Jason Heyward, or Ryan Zimmerman.  

The 2010 NL MVP plays for the Philadelphia Phillies, but he isn't Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, or Roy Halladay.

The 2010 National League Most Valuable Player is none other than Jimmy Rollins.

Philadelphia, PA—Coming back form the DL is a tough thing to do, especially if you've spent all but 14 games of the season away from your team.

Everyone, including Rollins, knew his ball was gone.


Jimmy Rollins had a slow start, coming off the DL Tuesday going 0-for-4 and not really contributing to the Phillies' 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Wednesday, however, was a different story—kind of.

So, let's do the math. Heading into tonight's game, the Philadelphia Phillies were 9-3 with Jimmy Rollins in the game, and 23-27 without him. 

Additionally, the hometown team has outscored opponents 74-35 with him, but have been outscored 226-201 with him idle. 

That's a 290-point differential in winning percentage.

Breaking it down a little further, that represents a 3.75 swing in run differential per game. With Rollins, the Phillies recorded 3.25 runs more than their opponent, but have scored .50 runs less than their opponent without him. 

So far 2010 has been filled with drama.

Teams go from boiling hot to freezing cold in an instant. Stars have been struggling more than ever.

Who would have thought Memorial Day weekend would leave so many marks this season?

Here are three 2010 Memorial Day Weekend shockers:

“You can do a lot with two inches.”

That’s what my son said while pondering his binder preferences at Staples.

Maybe you can.

You can also do a lot with two pitches. Cole Hamels tossed his curve into his limited repertoire but it was his fastball and change-up that ruled the game.

As a result, Ricky Botallico said Cole Hamels has “turned the corner.”

Are you kidding me?

For the first time since mid-April, the Phillies lineup was the way it should be. Every starter was playing, and they were handling John Lackey and the Red Sox fairly well along with the help of a stellar performance by Cole Hamels.

But once Jimmy Rollins hit a single in the sixth inning and had to limp to first base, the mood was immediately sucked out of the air.