J-Roll’s Secret Double Life Revealed in Daily News

Marcus Hayes told the story of Jimmy’s other career under the probably the worst headline I have ever seen in my entire life.

I’ve always gone under the assumption that Jimmy thinks he will live forever.  Not because he will, or because he is a godlike immortal; just because he’s Jimmy Rollins, and what would the world do without him?  It’s a good question.  I can’t imagine what the Phillies will inevitably be like without him, and the fact that we’re in the part of his career where saying that isn’t utterly ridiculous is unsettling.

But Jimmy doesn’t want to live forever.  He just wants to be remembered forever, like anybody.  He wants his existence to count for something, he wants history books to have his name as the chapter title, not just an emboldened term in the vocab box.  And while puppies and kittens are great, sometimes, you’ve got to flash that award-winning smile and cash in on another industry altogether.

For Jimmy, it is not at all surprising that the flash and attention of the music industry have gotten his attention.

"“I do love the spotlight, when it’s something I’m supposed to be involved with . . . Hopefully, you grow and grow and become a power player. Have an artist. Have more than one artist. Get that one person who can put you on the map. I’ll feel like that artist is a part of me.”–J-Roll in the Daily News"

There is a cyclical nature to all of this.  When Jimmy came out of the minors, John Vukovich apparently hated his attitude.  I would assume that the ‘tude in question was a less refined version of the one Marcus Hayes just spent three pages complimenting, so J-Roll’s been in transition since he was a tyke.  But now, with Jimmy describing the feeling of having a young person succeed thanks in part to his guidance and support, even if it is a musician he’s talking about, you can see the way in which he’s grown up right on front of us.  Coming from this blog, which cracks dick jokes and insinuates that its writer may be insane (I am writing in the third person now, for some reason), such an observation probably means close to nothing.

But in another article, Jimmy talks about his interaction with Dom Brown this past season, and how the kid “…reminds me a lot of myself in that he likes to sit back and observe.  He knows a lot more than he’s willing to let on, and he works really hard.”

Granted, when I think of Phillies who prefer to “sit back and observe,” I usually think of Chase sitting in the dugout with his baseball face on, or Doc, standing on the mound with his baseball/everyday/that-man-is-truly-going-to-kill someone face on.  In fact, if the Phillies are “observing” something, I usually just assume Jimmy is who they’re observing, whether he’s making brash statements to the press or doing a dance or something.

But the fact that Jimmy’s willing to use the “He-reminds-me-of-myself-at-that-age” mantra may indicate that he’s accepting the gradual role on this team of a guy who has the power to contribute spectacular numbers, but is also willing to accept change.  It’s a transition period, not a midlife crisis.  Or maybe he just likes two things.  The hell do I know.

Investing $20,000 in a Justin Bieber song, though.  That might be a midlife crisis.