"When the pressure is on, I definitely showed up to play" -- Jimmy Rollins

Just a note on the Phillies' slowly developing negotiations with longtime shortstop Jimmy Rollins…

Could Rollins be frustrating? Sure. He swings at way too many pitches that are not in his hitting zone. He also hit far more balls in the air than you'd like, considering the kind of speed he was once blessed with.

Still, all things considered, the Phillies were blessed to have him and his contagious, gap-toothed smile, and in signing him to a "cost control" long term contract, he was undoubtedly one of the best bargains at shortstop over the past 5 to 10 years.

Look for a minute at the money Edgar Renteria—and he hasn't been the real Edgar Renteria for a looooong time—raked in from 2005 – 2011: A cool $40,000,000.

And check out mediocre Jack Wilson, 2005 – 2011: $37,000,000.

Rollins, during that same time frame: $37,000,000, and he had to reach some incentives to get it.

Now, I'm not saying that Jimmy Rollins hasn't been able to pay the rent, but he certainly was a bargain at those numbers, given his production and leadership.

And don't quibble on the leadership aspect because of being late to the park once and not running out the occasional ground ball. He earned several of those millions just by kicking the Mets in the shins and raising the bar for expectations over the past few years. If the Phillies could have simply written a check for some intangible called "swagger" circa 2007 – 2008, they would have, in addition to paying Rollins's salary.

Instead they got it all in one relatively inexpensive package: A fiery, swaggering, cocky, sometimes arrogant, speedy, powerful, sure-handed shortstop with great range and a fine arm.

It says here that if Jimmy Rollins had played for the Yankees for his entire career, put up the same numbers, added the same swagger, fueled the same playoff runs, won the same MVP award, and played the same sterling defense, he'd be making $20,000,000 per, and they'd be getting ready to deify him—just like Don Mattingly and Paul O'Neill.

But if George Washington had been born a girl, we'd all be sipping tea in the afternoon and saying, "Cheery-O!"

What's always stunned me is that there continually have been so many allegedly-better shortstops in the National League than Rollins when it comes time to pick an All Star shortstop, even though he owns three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger.

Since 2004, the NL All Star shortstops have been Renteria (three times), David Eckstein (twice), Miguel Tejada (twice—yikes!), Jose Reyes (twice), Hanley Ramirez (twice), J.J. Hardy, Cristian Guzman, and an aged Barry Larkin.

And in all of that time, Rollins only made the team once—despite the Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger—the same number of times as Cristian Guzman, for cryin' out loud? And the National League version of Tejada? Really? J.J. Hardy? Seriously? But no room for Rollins?

Hogwash.

Maybe Rollins's talent is not as well-respected around baseball as it may seem. Maybe having been associated with the losing-est franchise in sports history has something to do with it. Maybe people just don't like him personally or the way he plays.

Whatever, Philly's been blessed to have him around during the New Millennium, and if he feels like he needs some additional dollars to make him feel wanted as his career winds down, more power to him.

He's earned the right.