Jimmy Rollins: Phillies' clubhouse under Ryne Sandberg 'a rough place'

LOS ANGELES Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins arrived at Philadelphia International Airport early Monday morning, less than 72 hours after Texas Rangers lefthander Cole Hamels flew out to Dallas. Rehabbing second baseman Chase Utley could become the next longtime Phillie on his way to a new team if he passes through waivers and a contending team trades for him later this month.

As Bob Dylan said, the times, they are a-changin'.

"They have [changed] . . . it's crazy," Rollins said yesterday afternoon, before his first game at Citizens Bank Park as a member of a team other than the Phillies. "It's definitely crazy. But not everybody wants to hang around if they didn't feel like they were going to be around."

The Phillies won with Rollins and a lot of other talented, homegrown players from 2007-11. The Phillies fall began when they held on to most of that talent, those players aged and regressed, and the talent was no longer there.

While the front office and ownership are to blame for trying to contend for a year or two too long, the team's descent from the top of the National League to the worst team in baseball had its roots last season, when a clubhouse filled with veterans who expected to win were rarely happy. Former manager Ryne Sandberg acknowledged the clubhouse issues last winter.

Rollins brought them back up again yesterday.

"It was a rough place," Rollins said of the clubhouse. "But that is where communication comes in, when you are able to talk things through and fix those rough patches or not even have them. But it just didn't work out that way."

Rollins said he spoke with general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. about Sandberg's need to improve his communication skills.

It's unlikely any manager - Tony La Russa, Bruce Bochy or even Connie Mack - could have salvaged the Phillies' seasons in each of the last two years, given the makeup of the roster. But, perhaps Sandberg's "very quiet" temperament wasn't the best fit for the team he inherited.

"As a manager, you have to deal with 25 personalities," Rollins said. "It isn't just about the X's and O's and executing the game plan. When you manage, you have to manage the players. You manage the game during the game time. In the meantime, you have to manage the players. That's something that I spoke with Ruben about before I got traded over, and I know he said that that was something that he wanted to mention to Ryne. Hopefully, that was a tip. But obviously whatever happened over here [in Philadelphia], he took it upon himself to say he didn't really want to be a part of it anymore."

Coincidentally, Rollins' single in the fifth inning last night, his second of the game, was his 2,387th career hit, moving him past Sandberg for 123rd all-time in baseball.

Darin Ruf made a rare appearance both in the starting lineup and in the outfield of that starting lineup.

It marked only the second time Ruf had started in leftfield in more than two months. Before last night, Ruf had made only three appearances in the outfield during that span; he came into Saturday's game in the seventh inning and played leftfield.

"Once again, he's a guy I wish I could get more playing time for," said manager Pete Mackanin, who has inherited a crowded outfield. "He can play first and the outfield, but we have some other guys we have to find out about. I'd like to find out about Ruf, too, and get him a week's worth of at-bats. But under the circumstances, he has to take advantage of every opportunity he has and force me into keeping him in there."

Before last night, Ruf had started only 11 of the team's previous 57 games, a period that included a very brief demotion to Triple A Lehigh Valley. Ruf, who turned 29 last week, hasn't played regularly since two years ago when he filled in as the team's regular first baseman after Ryan Howard underwent knee surgery.

From July 6, 2013, through the end of the season, Ruf hit .247 with a .348 OBP, an .806 OPS and 14 home runs in 73 games.

Chase Utley is scheduled to play in his third rehab game in four days tonight at Trenton with Double A Reading. Although nothing has been announced, he could rejoin the Phillies before the weekend.

But where will he play?

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said last month that Cesar Hernandez has earned the right to play second base regularly. Over the weekend, Mackanin said he wouldn't just sit Utley on the bench, either.

Mackanin ensured Hernandez he wants to see him continue to play, too, though.

"I already had a conversation with Cesar to let him know that he is not a utility player, but that in order to get Chase at-bats - and it's important to get Chase at-bats - he may play some first base so hopefully three or four days a week I can get him in," Mackanin said. "We'll see."

Mackanin basically said he could solve the crowded infield by using four players for three positions: using Hernandez at shortstop to give Freddy Galvis a day off and working Utley into action at first base in place of Howard at times, too.

It wouldn't be surprising if Utley, despite hitting .179, plays regularly one way or another, since opposing teams have expressed interest in acquiring him before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.

Utley went 1-for-4 and played six innings at second base with Double A Reading last night. It was his first game in the field since June 20.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese