Phillies Reflect on 2011, Look Ahead to 2012
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - As the wounds of the Phillies' loss in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS begin to heal, some key Phillies took time today to reflect and look ahead at Citizens Bank Park.
The big question as the Phillies head into the offseason is whether or not shortstop Jimmy Rollins will be back. Set to become a free agent, Rollins talked about his thoughts on his future.
"Accomplishing what I've accomplished here, what we have accomplished here as a team, definitely makes you want to see it through to the end," he said. "There's going to be an opportunity for that to happen. There is no doubt they are going to have first shot before anyone else to get something done. Hopefully we will get something done."
But Rollins is pretty clear what he needs on his end in any deal:
"I'm looking to get five years. If it's going to be shorter, it would have to be a fifth-year option or something like that. My option."
Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro talked about the Rollins situation. While he wouldn't get into any specifics on what they would be willing to do in a possible new contract, he says they definitely want Rollins in South Philadelphia.
"I think Jimmy knows exactly where we stand -- whether we want him back or not. There is no question about whether we want Jimmy back and be in our uniform and play shortstop for us for the next several years. Whether that happens kind of depends on whether we can get to the finish line on it," Amaro said.
Closer Ryan Madson is also set to be a free agent, and Amaro talked about his status, too.
"I talked to Ryan yesterday. He knows how I feel and how we feel about bringing him back: we'd like to bring him back as our closer next year. Takes two to tango."
Amaro also touched on first baseman Ryan Howard's Achilles injury and how long he thinks he may be sidelined.
"I don't think it's going to be half the (2012) season," Amaro said. "It may compromise part of the season. He is going to see Dr. Myerson today, as a matter of fact. But he may also seek another opinion. We're going to try and get it (surgery) done as quickly as possible. We have to make sure that the swelling has gone down enough so we can do the surgery. (We're) doing our due diligence, trying to get the right guy and the guy that Ryan feels comfortable with, but at the same time get it done as quickly as possible so we can get him on the road to recovery. It's probably going to be at least four months. How long after that I would not even begin to be able to tell you, until he has the surgery and we discuss it with the doctors and we go from there."
Phillies' centerfielder Shane Victorino knows how much this early playoff exit hurt everyone.
"If you are disappointed and you are frustrated as a fan or fans of the community, for myself, I'm ten times more disappointed that we didn't go on and we were ousted in the first round," Victorino said.
And Victorino says he is already looking forward to getting back to the top of the mountain in 2012.
"Going into the offseason this might be the most hungry I've ever been. To come back and get ready for 2012, I have that... as all you guys would always say, 'Do you have that bitter taste in your mouth?' Well, this year I can officially say I one hundred percent have that bitter taste in my mouth. And I want to come back that much better, that much more excited to play than any other offseason. Not saying that I'm never excited to come into a season, but this was by far the toughest one to swallow. Three days later, I'm still sitting here, just bitter that we didn't reach the ultimate goal."
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060
