Rollins Feels Old 'Window's Closed,' But Future Is Bright
Jimmy Rollins believes the Philadelphia Phillies are set up for future success with enough young, emerging players surrounding an aging core.
"That old window's closed," Rollins admitted. "This is a brand new thing. You've still got the pieces, but this is a brand new thing going forward.
"Obviously we would love to have that right-handed bat, but Darin Ruf has come up and done that so far. We're going to get Ryan [Howard] back, hopefully a healthy Ryan back on his legs and strong.
"So you've got Ryan at first and Darin Ruf over in left, Dom Brown in right, little Ben [Revere] in center. That's pretty good. The lineup is good."
The Phillies have hit .237 with a .300 OBP and left almost seven men on base per game since Howard went down.
"This isn't [something I] think, this is for sure, I'm telling you," Rollins said. "Only question right now is Ryan's health. We haven't seen him in a while. We text, but we never really ask 'How you doin?' It's other stuff, just life stuff. When Ryan's going to come back -- and hopefully be healthy when he is -- that's going to be a big part of our lineup."