Aug. 19 -- A MESSAGE FROM J-ROLL (UPDATED)

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Jimmy Rollins has taped a message to the fans that will be played during tonight's television broadcast. When I see it, I'll let you know what he said. Also, when we see what the fans' reaction is to him, I'll let you know.

Otherwise, J-Roll met with the media after batting practice and didn't back down from his comments last week on the Fox's "Best Damn Sports Show Period." He said he was speaking for several of his teammates, from Ryan Howard to Pat Burrell to Carlos Ruiz. He also said he isn't overly concerned about the reaction tonight because, "at the end of the day, if we win, they'll all be cheering."

Couldn't agree more.

More from J-Roll in a bit, so please check back.

(Update, 7:18 p.m.): Rollins' message was played only for the television audience, not here in the ballpark. But the reaction each time he was announced was mixed between boos and cheers. Here's some more of what he told the media before the game.

"You never know. Some are gonna boo, some are gonna cheer. But I don't care about it. That's the way it is, that's the way it was.

"I guess it's good thing -- it got people talking. It's just one of those things. We're people and athletes and when you make a response about how they feel about certain things it's like 'How dare you.' But the thing is, we're human beings and we all have the right to say things and they have the right to say something, too, and they have.

"The question was asked and that's what it was. It's not like I have an agenda or had an agenda. It was what it was and now I guess it is what it is. People here can take it like they want to take it, but it wasn't a false statement. But it's not like I was trying to take a cheap shot at somebody, either. It wasn't intended that way.

"I was speaking for a lot of guys, I wasn't just speaking for Ryan [Howard]. Ryan's had his share [of boos], I've had my share, Pat [Burrell's] had his share. I think Chase [Utley] hasn't been touched yet and hopefully it remains that way and he keeps coming out here and putting up numbers and they don't need do. But there are definitely guys who come back to the clubhouse or you see them from the dugout going to the plate and you see the expression on their face. It's like 'Man, I've got to try to do something, I've got to figure something out.' And they're halfway defeated before they get up there. But basically it's something nobody pays attention to, it's like 'Go get out of here, you can't play in this city.'

"This isn't even nothing to worry about. It's not like I'm getting beat up on. But people are going to like you for one reason and they're going to dislike you for another reason. And if you just want to play the politically correct game you can do that and get away with how you really feel behind closed doors. Sometimes you speak up and make a stance, it doesn't mean you did anything wrong, you just made a point.

"For every action there's a reaction. Some people are gonna cheer, some people are gonna boo. But at the end of the day, we win and they're all be cheering. And that's what we want. We want to win, they want us to win and they'll all be cheering. But in-game action, we're winning 5-3 and a guy makes an out, that's not something to boo. We're still winning. Let's go out there and score some more runs."

As I wrote in Sunday's paper, this whole thing is a nonsense issue. There are far more important matters involving the Phillies, like, I don't know, winning games. Personally, I think the reason people like Rollins is that he isn't afraid to speak his mind. Last year, he thought the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the NL East. He said it. People loved it. Last week, he expressed how he feels sometimes about Phillies fans. Don't like it? Too bad.