Phillie of the Week

Believe me, after this past week's worth of games it was somewhat difficult to make a selection for Phillie of the week. My early week pick of Cole Hamels fell apart with yesterday's performance against the Astros, in which he gave up five runs. So, despite what happened to him Monday night in Shea Stadium, Jimmy Rollins is the second Ramblings Player of the Week.

Sure, his critical error did lead to a Mets rally, turning a lead into a blowout loss along the way, but I credit the way he responded to the adversity the rest of the week. Rollins came right out and showed he wasn't going to let his one night performance hinder his ability to be a leader on the field. Like he has done many times before, he found a way to set the tone and attempt to spark his offense. A double into a triple and some home runs showed that he means business.

By week's end Rollins was leading the National League in home runs (how long do you think that will last though) and his average is now at .298. His strikeouts have dropped, although his walks are still not as high as you would like to see. He also notched at least one run in every game last week. Those are the kind of things you like to see out of your leadoff hitter.

I am really looking forward to this week of baseball as the Mets come to town come to town for two games and then the Phills go back on the road against the Nationals for two and a weekend series at the Reds. While I am frustrated to a high degree with the baseball club, I still realize there is a lot of baseball to play. A 5-2 stretch, including at least one win against the Mets, would make me feel better for sure. If they can pull that off before a stretch of home games to round out the month of April I think the tension surrounding the ball club will level off a little. Ryan Howard getting some hits a pair of strong showings by free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia could do a lot to pave that path.