DODGERS The ROLLINS Thread

i really wouldn't be surprised to see him have a big year
not like his mvp year, but i could see .275/20/75
rollins is a gamer and the move to a contender could make a huge difference

 

you could be right
and yours is probably more realistic
but i wouldn't put it past him to find some motivation going to a contender

 

rollins q & a...

Rollins eager to help end Dodgers drought
by Ryan Lawrence | Daily News Staff Writer -- 2 hours ago


Jimmy Rollins blows a kiss during his final home game as a Phillie. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)

Jimmy Rollins had just finished some pilates work this morning at his home in Tampa when the phone call he'd waited a week for finally came through. It was from Dodgers team president Andrew Friedman.

Rollins was no longer a Philadelphia Phillie.

"The Phillies are going one way," Rollins said, "and now I'm going in a different direction."

Here are some highlights of Rollins’s teleconference with Phillies beat writers on the day he was officially traded.

Q: What’s this mean to you, leaving a place you’ve spent half your life, you’re entire 15-year career?

Rollins: “It just means, really my time there is up. At this moment, that's what it is. Obviously, I'm not surprised to be traded. No one was, especially considering I told Ruben that's where I wanted to go. So it's just a matter of getting the right players and getting it done. The Phillies are going one way and now I'm going in a different direction.”

Q: You said repeatedly in the past, including during the last week of the season, you weren’t interesting in waiving no-trade clause, you wanted to stay here, you were confident front office would continue to try to build a winner. What or when did that change?

Rollins: “It never changed. It just got to the point where... At the end of the season, Ruben and I talked maybe three or four days after the season ended. He told me the direction the organization was going. He always said if I ever had a change of heart to just come and let him know. I told him then that I signed the deal and my plan was to honor the contract.

About a month later, he called and just said he wanted to let me know what was going on on the Young James front, as he called me. The Mets, the Yankees and the Padres had some interest. At that point, he can't really ask me to be traded. But I was able to read between the lines. So I just told him that if he could get me over to LA, we could make something happen.

Q: Why the attraction to Los Angeles in particular?

Rollins: It’s west, one. But most importantly, they're like where we were in our run. Maybe even slightly younger than when we were in the middle of our run. They have a great staff. They have a team over there that is built to win right now. And that's what is important, going out there every day knowing that you're going to compete with a chance to win - and not just win April through September, but a chance to win October.

Q: Rumors last month about Yankees - any interest there, to succeed Derek Jeter?

Rollins: “I didn’t have any reservations at all, but if I had been 10 years younger, and then, yeah, it’d make perfect sense to me to go there and have a lot of time to… you never would forget about Derek Jeter, but to come in and make a mark, after Derek Jeter, you can only do that if you’re there for a significant amount of time. Also, the Yankees, they beat us in 2009. They have a recent World Series. The Dodgers, if I’m correct last were in the World series when they won the one that broke my heart back in 1988. they do have the history, like the Yankees do, but they haven’t won a World Series in a long time. So that's a new challenge, something that I feel that hopefully we can accomplish and I can be a part of, another drought being broken.”

Q: What will you miss the most about Philadelphia?

Rollins: “That’s a good question. Right field is a little closer here than it is in Dodger Stadium. Just about the city itself- it’s a great place. I love to eat food and it’s a great place to go out to eat and experience different cultures of food. Its different- I’m from the West Coast and I’m more familiar with how people are from the west coast. It took me a while to get adjusted to how people are on the East Coast. I now understand the people and now I have to re-understand the people from the West. Going into that ballpark, it was brand new unlike Dodger Stadium and it was a beautiful place to play. When we were winner, it was a fantastic place to be. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Q: Do you plan on playing beyond 2015?

Rollins: “Oh yeah, I’m going to play beyond this year. Hopefully I’ll go out and have a fantastic season this year and the Dodgers will want to give me an extension to stay on the West Coast.”

Q: Tough call on your part, wanting to stay in one place for your whole career vs. playing for a winner before time ran out?

Rollins: “I asked a lot of questions about it to my agent and family members knowing this day was going come whether it was now or next year- the possibility of me having to switch teams is real. I just kinda looked at the guys that I grew up watching- 49er great Joe Montana. As great as he was, there eventually came a point that it was Steve Young’s turn. When he left, I don’t think it hurt his legacy. He was obviously going to always be a 49er, and that short time in KC was at the end of his career. The bulk of his career and all of his accomplishments happened in one uniform and that’s pretty much the same with me. I hope to accomplish a number of more things in whatever uniform I wearing. But my career and accomplishments and me becoming who I am all happened in one uniform.”

Q: Thought about what it’s going to be like to play here the first week of August?

Rollins: “Shoot, I don't know man. I'll worry about that when I get there, honestly. Right now I'm worrying about where the heck I'm going to (live).”​

.

 

:clap:

Ken Gurnick ‏@kengurnick 5m
Jimmy Rollins said he expects to take on role of clubhouse leader with Dodgers.
2:48 PM - 19 Dec 2014​

 

Rollins ready to "be a part of something special" in LA
Introduced by Dodgers, veteran shortstop eager to have impact, make history for new city
By Chad Thornburg | MLB.com



The Dodgers on Wednesday evening introduced one of several fresh faces who will take the field for the club in 2015.

Jimmy Rollins, acquired from the Phillies last month, donned his No. 11 Dodgers uniform for the first time. It's just the second big league uniform worn by the 15-year Major League veteran.

"There was only one place I wanted to go if I left Philadelphia and that was Los Angeles -- a place that has history, a place that wants to win, and I wanted to be a part of something special and somehow have an impact on that," Rollins said. "It wasn't happening in Philly at the moment, so I'm not surprised. I'm just glad it happened."

Rollins was acquired by the Dodgers in exchange for Minor League pitchers Zach Eflin and Tom Windle. The 36-year-old veteran spent the first 15 years of his career in Philadelphia, winning the National League MVP Award in 2007 while earning three NL All-Star selections, four NL Gold Glove Awards and an NL Silver Slugger Award. He hit .243 with 17 homers, 55 RBIs and 28 stolen bases through 138 games in 2014.

In Los Angeles, Rollins replaces Hanley Ramirez, who signed with the Red Sox as a free agent. The shortstop is joining a club that won 94 games last season, but lost to the Cardinals in the National League Division Series and has since undergone significant roster turnover.

"Number of wins doesn't necessarily mean everything is going well," Rollins said. "Sometimes you do it by talent alone, and that gets you through 162 games, but it takes a little bit more to get those next 11 wins.

"They wanted to address some issues and areas that needed to be fixed, and that's what I believe they went out and did."

With one year, $11 million remaining on his contract, Rollins is likely a short-term solution at shortstop until the club's top prospect, 20-year-old Corey Seager, is ready to assume the role. Rollins, however, doesn't believe that will keep him from assuming a leadership position in Los Angeles.

"If they respect you, they're going to listen; they figure it out pretty soon if you're just talking a whole bunch of hot air or if what you're saying makes sense," Rollins said.

"If they weren't pulling in the same direction before, if I can just get them pulling in the same direction and we win, one year can turn into more than that."

Rollins, who won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008, expressed an eagerness for an opportunity to accomplish that goal once more with a different team.

"It would be great to make that history all over again for a new city," he said.

 

Jimmy Rollins plans to stay with Dodgers beyond one season
By Steve Dilbeck | Los Angeles Times -- Today 8:29am


Jimmy Rollins was introduced as a Dodger on Wednesday / AP

One and done. Thanks for stopping by for a season, and best of luck and all.

Is this the Dodgers future of shortstop Jimmy Rollins?

Rollins is in the last year of his contract, and the Dodgers have premier shortstop prospect Corey Seager possibly only a season away. It looks pretty simple.

“I don’t plan on it being that way,” Rollins said.

“You do well enough, you can help them make changes to their plans. Obviously I would love for that to be the case. But I can do great, we can win the World Series and I could be a super stud, but they have to go on with their future.”

Rollins, 36, was officially introduced to the local media Wednesday. And though admitting how the last year of Rollins’ contract and the arrival of Seager are lined up, General Manager Farhan Zaidi was not about to lock himself into that future.

“Not necessarily,” Zaidi said. “He’s still an elite shortstop. He said let’s just see how this season goes, and I think from a front-office standpoint, that’s how we feel too.”

Last season with the Philadelphia Phillies, Rollins tied his career low with a .243 batting average but had 17 home runs, 55 runs batted in and 28 stolen bases.

Seager is the team’s most prized prospect, though there remains some uncertainty if he will ultimately be moved to third. Pieces could still be moved, though Zaidi said the Dodgers were not anticipating trying to work an extension with Rollins in the spring or early season.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “I can’t rule it out once we get into the season. He’s a dynamic personality. He’s a leader and he absolutely is the kind of guy we want in our clubhouse.

“So much of that press conference was about his leadership, and what may have been missed a little bit is how good of a player he still is. He’s going to add a real element to our team, both offensively and defensively. He may prove himself to be more important to this team than we think he is right now.”

As a 10-and-5 player -- 10 years in the majors, the last five with the same team -- Rollins could have blocked the trade to the Dodgers, but he didn’t necessarily approve the move planning to be in Los Angeles for one season.

“I’m here for now,” he said. “My job is pretty clear what I have to do, so I’m going to go out there and do that. The future will take care of itself. I can’t control that. I can only control what I do on the field and have an impact on the team on the field. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Rollins said he definitely plans on playing somewhere in 2016.

“Who knows what can happen?” he said. “I’m going to play. There’s no question about that.”

Could be for a new team, but a surprise move could still land him back with the Dodgers.

“Those things have a way of way of working themselves out,” Zaidi said. “There are a lot of ways for this thing to resolve itself. I certainly would not rule [his returning] out.”