Papelbon's Comment the Spark Phillies Need

               Jonathan Papelbon caused a bit of a stir yesterday after he talked about the lack of clubhouse leadership on the 2012 Phillies in an interview.  Papelbon was quoted as saying, "Since I’ve been here I haven’t seen any leadership."  
This quote may cause some tension in a Phillies clubhouse filled with veterans, but may also be just what the team needs.  Players like Chase Utley and Roy Halladay are silent leaders and choose to lead by example while players like Jimmy Rollins tend to be more vocal.  Sometimes Rollins is a little to vocal and makes unwise comments in interviews.  So while this may be seen by some as unnecessary tension that has been brought about on the club, I think it may be just the spark the Phillies need to bounce back from an extremely disappointing 2012.  
                Some people believe the person who will take the most offense at Papelbon's comments will be Rollins, but in reality he has no right to be offended.  While Rollins has been a vocal leader in the past and the team often runs through him, he has been thoroughly disappointing since winning his MVP Award in 2007.  Rollins hit only .250 last season with a .316 OBP which just does not cut it for someone who demands to hit lead off.  Despite his lackluster statistics Rollins seems to not want to vacate the lead off role, while Charlie Manuel also does not seem to want to move him either, a player like Rollins should not be hitting at the top of the order but rather in the five or six hole.  Many see Rollins as a leader but on multiple occasions he has failed to hustle on plays and been benched as a result.  He also continues to swing for the fences and while having some pop in the lead off spot is nice, Rollins often pops-up in his attempt to swing for the fences.  If Rollins wants to be a leader in the clubhouse he simply will need to talk a little less and instead let his play do the speaking for him.  He needs to be willing to put the ball on the ground and leg out hits rather than try to pad his power numbers and also hustle on all occasions and not choose to take some plays off.  You can talk the talk as much as you want but it doesn't matter if you don't walk the walk.  My advice for Rollins is to not tell us what we want to hear but rather show us what we want to see.  So Papelbon's comments may cause some tension in the clubhouse but that may be the wake up call this team needs in order to stop looking so complacent and get back to their winning ways.  Any players that take offense at Papelbon's comments, I welcome you to and hope you prove him wrong this year, but only time will tell if these comments will be the spark the Phillies need.  Go Phils!