Lineup change may be in order for struggling Phillies leadoff man Rollins

CHARLIE MANUEL says he has considered what 2 years ago would seem unfathomable. That would be taking Jimmy Rollins, your 2007 National League MVP, out of the leadoff spot he has manned for the past nine seasons and moving him down in the batting order. But even after the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Braves yesterday, when the star shortstop went 0-for-5 and saw his batting average drop back below the Mendoza Line, Manuel still could not convince himself that such a move would work.

"You tell me where he can go," the Phillies manager said after his team lost for the fourth time in five games, falling to 15-14. "I want to tell you something: I go over that every night. You tell me where he can go. Tell me where we have a leadoff hitter that can go up there and have on-base percentage and everything. Jimmy's not a high on-base-percentage guy, but he hits doubles, he hits homers, he can hit 25 to 30 homers. I know he's not doing it, but he sits in that hole for us. You tell me somebody who can hit there in our No. 1 hole, who gets on base, with a high on-base percentage. I think about that all the time. But that's kind of where I see it. I think about where I am going to put him every day."

Technically, yesterday's loss was charged to lefthanded reliever Jack Taschner, who inherited a 2-1 lead from starter Brett Myers at the start of the seventh inning, but allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases, then gave up a two-out, two-run single to Casey Kotchman that put the Braves ahead. It was just the fourth loss of the season charged to the Phillies' bullpen, which had entered the day tied with the Marlins for the second-fewest losses in the National League.

But on a day that seemed built for offense - a lineup laden with lefthanded power against a righthander with a 6.41 ERA pitching on a day where a stiff wind was whipping out to rightfield - the Phillies' struggles to put men on base appeared to be the biggest factor in their demise.

Those struggles started at the top of the order, where Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley combined to go 0-for-13 with one walk. While Victorino and Utley have both spent a considerable chunk of the last 3 weeks as key cogs in the Phillies' offensive performance, Rollins has struggled throughout the first month-and-a-half of the season.

By the end of April, he appeared to have escaped his doldrums, going 7-for-19 in his last four games of the month while raising his average from .159 to .207.

But Rollins, who declined to speak with reporters before leaving the clubhouse after the game, is hitless in his last two games and has reached base just three times in his last 23 plate appearances.

His struggles against Braves righthander Kenshin Kawakami were by no means an isolated occurrence in the lineup. Ryan Howard, whose two leadoff doubles resulted in the team's only runs, and Matt Stairs, who went 2-for-2 with two walks, had four of the team's five hits against the Japanese import. The rest of the lineup went 1-for-18 against him.

The Phillies managed just six total hits, although a solid pitching performance by Myers gave them a chance to win. Myers struggled in the first inning, loading the bases with no out, but worked his way out of the jam and allowed his only run on a sacrifice fly. He pitched out of trouble throughout the afternoon, but retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced and was in line for the victory before Kotchman's two-run base hit off Taschner in the seventh.

"I still need a little bit of work," said Myers, who allowed one run on five hits, striking out three and walking two while lowering his ERA to 4.81. "But it's definitely a lot closer than it has been . . . I felt a lot better out there, a little more in control than I had been in the past. I felt a little stronger. Everything went well for the most part but it didn't work out in our favor."

As the Phillies inch their way through the month of May, they find themselves in a position similar to last year, searching for consistency while dealing with the disappearance of one of their marquee hitters. In 2008, it was Howard mired in an epic slump. Now it is Rollins, who has just one home run and nine RBI to go with his meager batting average.

Manuel said he feels like he has a lack of options at the leadoff spot. He briefly used Jayson Werth there last season, but the rightfielder is hardly a prototypical leadoff hitter, despite the .363 on-base percentage and 20 stolen bases he posted in 2008.

The most legitimate option is Victorino, who reached base in seven of 18 plate appearances in three games in which he led off earlier this season.

"I look at Victorino, yes he can be a leadoff hitter," Manuel said. "Yes he can. At the same time, with the production that Jimmy gives you in the leadoff hole . . . "

He ended the sentence there, then went on to explain how Rollins is a better base stealer, a better hitter, all of which the veteran has shown over the past nine seasons in Philadelphia.

For now, Manuel seems content to wait until Rollins regains that form. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.