Jimmy Rollins and Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg exchange passive-aggressive swipes

Ryne Sandberg is in his first spring training as Phillies manager after taking over for Charlie Manuel last season. Veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins has been with the big-league club since 2000.

It sounds like it's taking some time for the two to get used to each other, as they're trading passive-aggressive swipes through the media. From Philly.com:

"Obviously he is upset about something," Rollins said.

The first hint of any issue came after Wednesday's game in Sarasota, Fla., when Sandberg offered no explanation for Rollins' three-day benching. Unprompted, Sandberg praised Freddy Galvis' "energy and his positive influence." When asked about Rollins in that regard, Sandberg said, "No comment."...

"Well, everyone is allowed to have their own opinion," Rollins said Thursday. "It doesn't make it right, but he's the manager so he gets to have the last say."

Though his production has declined since his MVP season in 2008, Rollins is a franchise cornerstone who is very likely settled into his annual spring-training routine. But Sandberg is working to establish his tone as a manager, and apparently Rollins isn't helping.

It shouldn't be terribly shocking that the two might go a couple of days without communicating -- everyone's busy preparing for the regular season, after all. What's unfortunate here is that they're letting their spat play out via the press.

Presumably small annoyances and necessary adjustments happen all the time between new managers and old players -- and vice versa -- but neither Sandberg nor Rollins benefits from making their frustrations public. It didn't have to be a whole thing, but now it's a whole thing.

And it's exactly the type of thing that will bubble up again in the regular season if and when the Phillies prove disappointing. Philadelphia has a huge payroll yet doesn't look likely to beat out the Braves or Nationals in the NL East, and Rollins has an $11 million option for 2015 that will become guaranteed if he reaches 434 plate appearances.

So even if they've smoothed things over now -- and Rollins is scheduled to make Friday's trip to Bradenton, so it appears they have -- we probably haven't heard the last of this.