The start of a new chapter for Rollins

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Philadelphia Phillies lead the major leagues in spring training intrigue of the wrong kind (in the non-Alex Rodriguez category). If Cole Hamels isn't expressing doubts about the franchise's ability to win this decade, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is apologizing to Ryan Howard for his offseason comments about a clean break being the best thing for all involved. Jonathan Papelbon is a walking trade rumor. The outfield is nondescript. And Baseball Prospectus and the Las Vegas sports book Bovada both project the Phillies to record the fewest victories in baseball this season.

All things considered, it's not so bad to be wearing Dodger Blue, chatting with manager Don Mattingly behind the cage and making new friends roughly 2,200 miles from Clearwater, Florida.

Jimmy Rollins broke in with the Phillies organization at age 17 and won four Gold Gloves, made three All-Star teams and captured a Most Valuable Player Award and a World Series ring in 19 seasons with the organization. So it wasn't easy seeing the team go from a perennial contender with a 257-game sellout streak to a last-place club that elicited chuckles when it lost 6-2 to Division II University of Tampa before the start of Grapefruit League play.

"It seems crazy," Rollins said. "It's unraveled fast. It was unraveling, and now they've pulled the bow apart and opened it up.

"But it's not my clubhouse anymore, and it's not my team, and you have to cut that off. You can't keep looking over your shoulder and looking back. I learned that years ago watching guys get traded. You can do all you want for an organization. But when your time is up, your time is up."

Rollins' tenure in Philly has expired. His ability to turn back time in Los Angeles -- or at least make time stand still -- will help set the tone for the final act of his career.

After Rollins waived his 10-and-5 service time rights, the Phillies traded him to Los Angeles for minor league pitchers Zach Eflin and Tom Windle in December. The Dodgers are counting on Rollins and his new double-play partner, Howie Kendrick, to provide stability, production and a little bit of panache up the middle.

New pals

Rollins and Kendrick have developed some positive synergy early in camp. After a recent morning workout, they retired to "Maury's Pit" to practice the fine art of bunting. While Dodgers great Maury Wills fed balls into a pitching machine, they took turns dropping balls down the third- and first-base lines around imaginary fielders. Rollins handily defeated Kendrick in the drill, and judging from the bunt-to-laughter ratio, a good time was had by all.

It's a strange sensation for Rollins to look to his left and see anyone other than Chase Utley at second base. The two Phillies started 1,187 games together, second most of any double-play combination in history behind the 1,607 games logged by Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker in Detroit. So it's only natural for Rollins to watch Kendrick around the bag and reflect on how Utley used to do it.

Rollins has already noted how Utley stands 6-foot-1 and throws from a higher angle, while Kendrick is 5-10 and likes to wing it from down low with "a lot of juice." In Philadelphia, Rollins grew accustomed to Utley fielding a ball with a runner bearing down on second and trying to make the tag "99 percent of the time." Does Kendrick prefer to do it that way? He'll find out soon enough.

Kendrick, who spent six years working with shortstop Erick Aybar in Anaheim, anticipates a smooth transition with Rollins.

"We'll get a lot better," Kendrick said. "He's played short forever. I've played second base forever. And I don't think the bases moved."

At 36, Rollins doesn't look much different from the 1996 second-round pick whose swagger drastically outweighed his diminutive stature. He had his moments to regret in Philly -- for example, when manager Charlie Manuel benched him for a failure to hustle and arriving late to the park for a game in New York. But Rollins represented the organization well, and those were venial sins in the grand scheme of things.

Former Phillies general manager Ed Wade called him a "red light" player, and Rollins was a guy who never flinched in tight spots and gave teammates a sense of comfort when a ground ball came his way with runners on base in a tight game in the ninth.

His new teammates discerned those traits for years from the opposite dugout, and Rollins received a strong endorsement from Dodgers first base coach Davey Lopes, who knew him well from a previous stint in Philadelphia. "Davey told us how smart Jimmy is and how he basically just knows how to play," Mattingly said. "All those things we kind of thought, Davey verified for us."

With the passage of time, Rollins has begun to travel in more distinguished circles. He passed Mike Schmidt as the Phillies' career hits leader with No. 2,235 in June, and he continues to work his way through the ranks of the elite at his position. Rollins enters the 2015 season with 2,306 hits, and with a healthy season he's a lock to pass Davey Concepcion, Edgar Renteria, Barry Larkin, Trammell and Miguel Tejada and move into the top 10 among MLB shortstops in that category.

Only two shortstops in history have amassed 1,300 runs, 400 doubles, 200 homers, 100 triples and 400 stolen bases. Their names are Robin Yount and Jimmy Rollins.

'Small dogs last longer'

Rollins hit 17 home runs last season, and the transition from Citizens Bank Park to Dodger Stadium is likely to put a crimp in that total. But he drew a career-high 64 walks last season while averaging 4.15 pitches per plate appearance -- easily the highest of his career -- and Mattingly sees him as the Dodgers' best option at leadoff.

After appearing in 316 of a possible 324 games in the 2012-13 seasons combined, Rollins missed 24 games last season largely because of a strained hamstring that sidelined him for much of September. Although Mattingly won't commit to a target for Rollins in 2014, something in the 145-games range sounds about right. Rollins has stayed fit with a regimen that includes yoga, and he checks in at 172 pounds -- about 12 pounds over his playing weight as an Encinal High School Jet in Alameda, California.

"My thought is, 'Small dogs last longer. They really do,'" Mattingly said. "He hasn't put stress on his body because he's kept his weight the same and he's kept in shape. And just watching him work here, you can tell he's getting ready for April. That's what you get with older guys."

Although Rollins would have loved to finish his career in Philadelphia, the Phillies were headed in a direction that made him and outfielder Marlon Byrd trade bait over the winter. If Philadelphia columnists pass through the Cactus League expecting him to disparage the organization from afar, they'll be disappointed. Rollins is amazed at how precipitously the Phillies have fallen, but his affection for the city and the franchise will never wane. He understands that his departure was strictly business.

"I grew up a 49ers fan, and they got rid of Joe Montana for Steve Young," Rollins said. "I was like, 'What the hell are you doing?' But it was time for turnover. Joe finished out his career in Kansas City, but he's always going to be a 49er.

"What we were able to do in Philly -- what I personally accomplished on and off the field -- that's a part of my history and who I am as a ballplayer. I was drafted at 17 and [was] 36 when I got traded, so I've spent more than half my life as a Phillie. Even if someone wanted to erase it, good luck. That's my identity in baseball."

Realistically, Rollins' stay in Los Angeles is shaping up to be a pit stop. Corey Seager, brother of Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, is getting closer to the majors, and he could be ready to step in at shortstop in 2016. When Rollins recently revealed that the New York Mets were his No. 2 choice for a trade over the winter, it was a not-so-gentle reminder that he'll keep an open mind when he becomes eligible for free agency in November.

But first he has some business to take care of in Los Angeles. Rollins will spend this summer getting to know Kendrick, learning the most efficient routes to Chavez Ravine and working to return to the postseason after a three-year absence. As he tries to make a clean break from Philadelphia, he will take pains not to look back, because it can only impede him from the journey that lies ahead.