Went to a Phillies/Nats game earlier this year at Nats Park, which of course was very well attended by Phillies fans. While Phillies fans never have to work very hard at being obnoxious, they had a pretty easy time of it during their first series with the Nats – given that Jayson Werth jumped ship in the off-season, moving from the Phillies to the Nats. So naturally, the Phillies fans were going to let him have it. And they didn’t disappoint – jeering at Werth constantly and taunting him with chants such as “He’s not ‘WERTH” it”. My initial, hopeful thought was that he’d show ‘em as the season played out.
But after now watching him for close to 1/3 of the season, listening to him spout off last week about there being obvious things wrong with the Nats that needed to be fixed, and then being at the Park today to watch him once again fail to perform, I’m pretty convinced that the Phillies fans had it right. He continues to take way too many called 3rd strikes and is pretty much a lock to NOT deliver in the clutch. One of the things that he was supposed to bring to the table was strong defensive skills. And while he has shown that at times this year, I wouldn’t say that he’s been spectacular. Case in point today. With a runner on first, the Padres batter hit a drive to deep right. It was over Werth’s head but it had some air under it. Admittedly, it would have required a great play to track it down and make the catch. But I’ve seen good outfielders often make those kinds of plays. Indeed, his teammate Rick Ankiel made two similar plays earlier in the game in centerfield. So I don’t think it was unreasonable to think that Werth should have made that play. But he seemed to get a poor jump on the ball, then turned the wrong way and the ball bounced off his glove. The runner from first scored and the hitter had a triple. He later scored that inning what turned out to be the winning run. If Werth is not going to do it at the plate, you would hope that he could at least help the team with his glove. Guess that’s too much to hope for. Werth said earlier this week that he some idea on what changes need to be made to stop this losing spell. Hopefully he would start by looking in the mirror!
And so where does this leave me as a Washington sports fan? Well, I just have one thing to say, and it’s directed toward Ted Leonsis and the Washington Capitals – PLEASE DO NOT TRADE FOR OR SIGN AS A FREE AGENT, ANY PLAYER FROM THE FLYERS!! I think the Redskins and the Nats have clearly demonstrated that Philadelphia teams cannot be trusted – they start to salivate when they see us coming. They are more than willing to let their washed up, declining star players head on down I-95 and stop here to inflict misery on all of us long-suffering fans. Don’t fall for it Ted!
