Jimmy Rollins is Burning

Jimmy Rollins is having one heck of a July. Of course it helps that his team has played most of their games against teams in the NL Central such as Houston and St. Louis, not to mention a few against pitching-poor Colorado.

Rollins has put up decent number so far this season but in July, he has been growing them exponentially. The Phillies shortstop, during this nice nine game run has knocked out 5 homers and batted in 10, doing his part for the Phillies potent offense. Rollins has also batted .378 this month in his nine games going 17 for 45.

Rollins has benefited from having guys like Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand directly behind him in the order. Those four guys are a nightmare for any pitching staff and with Rollins leading off every night, the top five in the Phillies lineup is as tough as any in baseball.

The Phillies have put up 23 runs already against the Cardinals in only 2 games. Of course, the Cardinals starting pitching is hardly triple-A legit without Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter. The team goes to Los Angeles and San Diego for a seven game road trip next week which will pose a tougher challenge for the Phillies than the soft pitching staffs that they’ve recently been abusing.

After feasting on the sisters of the poor in Houston, Colorado and St. Louis, ranked 23rd, 24th and 27th in team ERA respectively, the Phillies now will face the Dodgers and the Padres, ranked 4th and 1st in team ERA.

Can Rollins’ hot bat and the four sluggers behind him keep it up out west? Can they use this momentum to pick up ground on the inconsistent Braves and the division leading Mets? Lots of questions, time for some answers.

Trade that should happen

Baltimore send Steve Trachsel and Jamie Walker to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Carlos Carrasco and SS Adrian Cardenas.

Now, that would be a lot for the Phils to give up for two half-decent pitchers but they need all the help they can get. The Orioles should be willing to give up any reliever except Chris Ray for these two high-end prospects. If The Phils balk at Carrasco, ask about Carlos Ruiz. Heck, ask about Pat Burrell. 6 out of 9 games on the bench might drop his value some.

The benefits for both teams are quite obvious though, especially if the O's can find a taker for the recently-injured Miguel Tejada, who should be returning to action around deadline time.