Charlie Manuel must be flexible with changing Phillies lineup

CLEARWATER, Fla. - When a team has success - for example, winning a World Series and getting to another one - the players command a certain kind of respect, even from their manager.

We're talking about the Phillies, of course, and the way manager Charlie Manuel handled the lineup over the last six years. For all the talk and debate about Jimmy Rollins' hitting leadoff and Ryan Howard's struggles with lefthanders, Manuel generally turned in pretty much the same lineup card almost every day.

He was managing a team that went to the World Series two years in a row and reached the postseason five years in a row.

He is not managing that team now. Manuel is managing a team that went .500 last year. But there's more: The 2013 Phillies will open the season with only three regulars from the 2008 champions in the lineup. For that matter, there will be only three starters left from the 2012 team.

Rollins, Howard, Chase Utley. Catcher Carlos Ruiz will be along after serving his suspension for using a banned substance.

All that change means a revamped lineup. But the events of the last couple years - the injuries, the decline in production, the increased decibel level of the tick-tick-ticking clock - give Manuel license to do whatever he thinks is best. The players' egos should no longer be a primary concern.

In order, then:

I've always felt that Rollins is the best option in the leadoff spot, even if he isn't exactly the prototype. I still believe that and so, by all appearances, does Manuel. But the Phillies can't afford to sit idle if Rollins goes through a six-week slump like he did from mid-April through May last year (.199 average, .523 OPS). Manuel has to be willing to switch up, maybe putting new centerfielder Ben Revere in the leadoff spot.

Utley batted second in Monday's Grapefruit League game against Detroit's lefthanded Drew Smyly. Michael Young, a righthanded batter, hit in Utley's usual No. 3 spot.

"I just wanted to look at splitting up [Utley] and Ryan," Manuel said. "If they bring in a lefty [reliever] for Utley, at least we have a righthanded hitter to face that lefty, too."

Manuel said he believed Utley's decreased numbers against lefthanders the last couple years were connected to the knee problems that kept him out of the lineup for months at a time.

"I think it's because of his playing time and because of his knees, I do," Manuel said. "I think Utley can still hit lefties."

Utley is playing this spring, which is the first sign that he could be getting back to where he was. He made a fine diving stop in the field Monday - a far cry from sitting on a stool fielding grounders, as he has in recent years.

If Utley can hit second or third, Young gives Manuel a lot more flexibility than any of the righthanded hitters from last year. Hunter Pence was miscast as a cleanup hitter while Howard was out. Placido Polanco, once a solid two-hole hitter, broke down physically. Let's not even talk about Ty Wigginton and John Mayberry Jr.

Howard hits fourth. Period. But Manuel should heed a suggestion that former general manager Pat Gillick made last week on Comcast SportsNet: If the big guy is flailing at lefties, it's probably time to sit him against some of the better ones.

Young or Darrin Ruf can play first base. Howard may not be thrilled - one of his best qualities is that he wants to play every inning, every game - but he probably could use a bit more rest than he has gotten in the past, anyway.

The fifth through eighth spots: Ruf, Domonic Brown, or Delmon Young behind Howard, followed by Revere (or Rollins, eventually) and then the catcher.

"My lineup will take care of itself, really," Manuel said, meaning players will earn their spots between now and opening day.

For a few years there, Manuel practiced patience with his stars. He knew Rollins, Howard and Utley would get hot eventually, and they usually did. Now that's not such a sure thing.

Age and injuries and urgency have changed the dynamic. It will be interesting to see if Manuel changes with it.