June 25 -- ROLLINS BENCHED (UPDATED)

BY SCOTT LAUBER

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Pressed for time today, but for those who aren't yet following Philled In on Twitter, Jimmy Rollins isn't in the Phillies' lineup today. He won't start tomorrow either, as Charlie Manuel wants to give him a mental break. Eric Bruntlett is filling in at shortstop. Rollins didn't take batting practice today, per Manuel's suggestion.

Rollins is 0-for-19, 7-for-56 and batting only .211 overall this season.

More later.

(Updated, 8:49 p.m.): Rollins didn't offer any comment on his benching, but here are some words from Manuel, who talked at length about it before batting practice: "I've been noticing now for a while that Jimmy's trying to do [too many] things instead of being relaxed. He's definitely thinking about helping our team. I think that's bothered him. I think he sees something during a game where he thinks, now is a good time to help our team, and all of a sudden, he's not getting it done and that makes it worse for him. ... I want him to sit down. I want him to kind of get away for a couple days and sit and watch and hopefully just relax."

This isn't the first time Manuel has rested Rollins as a way of getting him going. Rollins didn't start on back-to-back Sundays early in the season, and both times, the rest provided a short-term jolt. On April 19, he slugged a pinch-hit homer against the Padres, then returned to the lineup two days later and recorded two hits against the Brewers. After not starting April 26 in Florida, he notched a three-hit game the following night against the Nationals.

And while there's no way of knowing how Rollins will respond to the most recent benching, one thing is almost certain: When he returns to the lineup, Manuel said he'll most likely be in his familiar leadoff spot. "He's our leadoff hitter," Manuel said. "To me, we've got to get Jimmy right. That's the whole purpose of sitting him. I don"t see moving him around in the lineup helping him one bit at all, if you want to know the truth. I don't understand that. I don't see it. I've been around him for about five years, and he's our leadoff hitter. For us to get our offense going, the big thing is trying to get him going."