Richmond Dominates Phils (recap)

The Blue Jays were unsure up until yesterday who they would throw against the Phillies. Scott Richmond became the choice but it could have secretly been injured pitcher Roy Halladay the way he pitched. Richmond pitched eight strong innings and allowing only one run on five hits, one walk, and struck out 11 en route to a 7-1 victory for the Blue Jays

The Phillies managed to get a run out of Jayson Werth's solo homer in the fourth. After being roughed up in the first two innings, Jamie Moyer settled down nicely until the seventh where he gave up a hit and then a two-run blast to Aaron Hill. He got yanked for Chad Durbin who saw Scott Rolen's solo homer go out to left to cap the scoring.

Jimmy Rollins, Chase Ultey, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez are all considered to be the pop in the Phillies line up. They were nothing similar to that as they went 1-13 with six strikeouts. The only hit came from Howard's single which was followed up by a double play ball hit by Ibanez. It was that kind of night. The Phillies could only muster six hits and struck out 12 times.

Now it's time for a little rant...

Jimmy Rollins is a terrible lead-off hitter and we know this. But at that same time, he is the best guy on this team for that. Rollins should be dropped back to the six-spot, not for a few games, but for an extended period of time until he starts hitting and getting his confidence. The reason I say this is because that's how Shane Victorino got into a hitting role late last year and sparked the Phillies' World Championship run. He batted behind Pat Burrell and made the most of it.

The line up should be:
-Victorino/Werth/Utley/Howard/Ibanez/Rollins/Feliz/Ruiz or Coste/pitcher vs RHP.

-Victorino/Utley/Werth/Howard/Ibanez/Rollins/Feliz/Ruiz or Coste/pitcher vs LHP.

Ever since Rollins hit 30 homers during his 2007 MVP campaign, he has tried to hit home runs. As a lead off guy, that's not supposed to be his game. He needs to wait on pitches, hit line drives, get walks, work the count, and just be smart. My new slogan for him is "Be smart, Jimmy." Once he establishes himself as a line drive hitter and does it on a constant basis, then I want to see him moved back in the lead off spot where he can be the catalyst he once was two years ago. Hopefully Charlie Manuel sees the light.

Be Smart, Jimmy.