On the Cloud of Unknowing…. Jayson Werth
Tonight the Phillies start a 3 game series which stands to be the most important of the season. The Braves come into Philadelphia looking to decrease the lead the Phillies have right now in the N.L. East. It’s going to be an epic battle!!
This is finally going to be the true test of who should claim the N.L. East this year, and with 9 games left, it couldn’t come at a more significant time. Sadly I have some bad news for both parties…
The bad news for the Phils? Jayson Werth just signed with agent Scott Boras recently, meaning that when the off-season comes, the Phillies have to get ready for some hardball. It’s highly unlikely that Werth will come back. With the precedence set by Jason Bay’s ridiculously high paying deal in New York , and Domonic Brown waiting to shine (and waiting is the key word, Brown’s offense fizzled after his MLB debut,) all signs are pointing to Jayson being a highly desired free agent that the Phillies can’t afford to keep.
I’m not sure how I feel about this, because Jayson truly has seemed disinterested at times while playing, and even stories of him yelling at fans in the stadium circulated this year. On the flip side, I just watched him jack a 2 run HR yesterday in the bottom of the 9th to give us our 7th straight win. He’s also had more at bats than any other player on the Phillies this year, has a better OPS than Ryan Howard (that’s on base and sluggign percentage making love together for one stat), and has made more starts than any other Philly.
It’d be nice to think that everyone can stay put where they are with such great chemistry, but sadly, it usually never ends up that way. The next 9 days (and hopefully post-season) will be a true test of his character.
Oh… and the bad news for the Braves? They’re gonna be six games down by Thursday.