CLEARWATER, Fla. -- On the day before school begins, Jimmy Rollins was called into the principals office Thursday.
Dont misunderstand. Rollins wasnt in trouble. He didnt get aired out by manager Charlie Manuel.
But there was no doubt that the skipper was setting a tone for camp and sending a message to the team through one of its leaders on the eve of the first full-squad workout of the spring.
I felt like before we got going, I wanted to talk to him, Manuel said. We talked about how we want to play, some about hitting.
After the Phillies offense ran aground and the club was eliminated from the playoffs last season, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said he had instructed Manuel and hitting coach Greg Gross to improve the teams offensive approach in 2012. Manuel has vowed to stress a more productive approach with the teams hitters this spring.
What better place to start than the leadoff man? (And, yes, Manuel confirmed, Rollins is going to be this teams leadoff hitter.)
Jimmy carries that weight, Manuel said. Hes one of the guys that moves us.
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Rollins was not around to talk about his meeting in the skippers office, but Manuel said, It was good. Everything about it was good.
According to Manuel, he and Rollins didnt just talk hitting. They talked about the team maintaining an energy level throughout the season, and not taking winning for granted. Even though the Phils have led the majors in wins the last two seasons, there have been times that Manuel has complained about complacency in the clubhouse.
He wants it to stop.
That is one of the reasonsalong with bringing some pop to the benchthat Jim Thome was brought back this winter. Hes all-baseball, all-concentration, and all about winning all the time.
We never got away from winning, but the last couple years we kind of settled in at times, Manuel said.
He added that its important to keep up the excitement level, not only for the players, but for the fans.
A lot of that excitement can start with offense.
And that starts with Rollins.
Manuel encouraged Rollins to address some of the flaws in his game.
Hes got more in him, Manuel said. He can be a little more selective. Hell get to 3-and-1 in the count and chase balls up.
Manuel wants his hitters talking about their craft more and learning from each other. (Thats another assignment for Thome, who has already compared notes with Ryan Howard.) He wants the clubhouse and the dugout to be more of a hitting laboratory.
I want our guys talking more about hitting, getting good balls to hit, and not giving at-bats away, he said. With our pitching, we need to score the runs were supposed to score. Man on third less than two outs early in the gamewe need to get that run in. We need to handle the bat. Cut down on your swing, do the job instead of airing it out.
We used to talk about our hitting, used to get excited about our hitting. Two or three years ago, if someone had a good at-bat theyd sit down and talk about that at-bat. I havent seen that the last couple of years.
Whether or not Phillies hitters can sustain an improved offensive approach throughout the season remains to be seen. But you can bet they will work on it starting Friday in the first full-squad workout.
Learn, Manuel said. And practice that way.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com