USA Today
Jimmy Rollins is excited to play against his longtime rivals once again as the Mets face off against the Dodgers in the NLDS. Rollins and the Phillies dashed the Mets hopes in 2007, and he would love to do the same in the postseason this year for Los Angeles.
While he is no longer the player he was in his prime, Rollins was the NL MVP in 2007 and was a thorn in the Mets side for years. He infamously declared the Philles as “the team to beat” and backed up his talk with an incredible season.
He crushed 30 home runs that year while driving in 94 runs and stealing 41 bases.
One of the moments Rollins remembers most was a walk off victory against the Mets in August of 2007.
“We walked off the field (with an 11-10 win) against Billy Wagner, and Chase Utley hit the ball to right field, and Tadahito (Iguchi) came around to score, and I remember (Mets catcher Paul) Lo Duca just walking off the field and we were just like, ‘yes, we got them.’ Even if we hadn’t come back to win that year, we handled our business when we needed to and it just worked out that we kept winning and they kept losing.” (Peter Botte, NY Daily News)
Rollins understands that the Mets are a very different team this time around, and he knows that their rotation is as talented as it gets.
“Obviously, you know about the second half they had,” Rollins said. “Especially after a few trades, they’re playing some good baseball. But playing against them, I’ve already seen the makings of it with the staff they have and you could see things starting to turn around for them. It actually happened probably sooner than a lot of people expected it but as long as they did, that’s all that really counted.”
Rollins is batting only .224 this year with 13 home runs and a .643 OPS. He’s expected to backup rookie superstar Corey Seager, but he could still make an impact off the bench,
Another former Phillie on the Dodgers is Chase Utley, who has also disappointed in 2015. In 423 at bats, he’s hit just eight home runs and has a .212 average.
While the Mets certainly have much more to worry about the Rollins and Utley, ending their seasons would make a series victory even sweeter. It would be a good amount of payback for all torture they put the Mets through in years past.
