Jimmy Rollins wasn't perfect

I've been told by someone who would know that years ago, during the Philadelphia Phillies' germination in the late '00s as a genuine force in the National League East, one of Jimmy Rollins' teammates had this to say about him:

"We let Jimmy think he's the leader. And then everybody's happy."

I am now keeping that in mind as I simultaneously make this appraisal of the 2008 World Series champions:

If they don't have Jimmy Rollins, they don't win it.

And I don't just mean his fluid expertise at shortstop worthy of four Gold Gloves or his unique blend of speed and power for the position that Jayson Stark so comprehensively documented in this column.

I mean that if he doesn't come out in January of 2007 and say, "I think we are the team to beat in the NL East," nobody else on the Phillies does. And if no one says it, I'm not at all sure the Phillies do it.

That was the thing about Rollins. He could irritate Charlie Manuel and every dead-red Phillies fan with the way he occasionally jogged out ground balls and took big looping, early-count cuts as a lead-off hitter. But even those most easily annoyed must acknowledge Rollins' seed quality that could not help but infect his team:

He was a winner.

He didn't just want to win. He carried himself with the cool confidence of a winner. And he backed up his talk with one big play after another during his prime.

It's easy to forget how much the Phillies needed that subtle swag between the 2006 and 2007 seasons and how throwing it down to the Mets made an impact. Even if he's a bit the drama king, teams need one guy that says what needs to be said out loud.