Jayson Werth booed, then cheered, in return to Philadelphia

In one of the greatest mixed messages ever, Phillies fans first booed Jayson Werth in his return to Philly, then gave him a standing ovation:

Yeah, the guy sold out for more money, but it's hard to blame him. Thanks for a few good years, Werth. Now I hope you never get a hit in Philly again.

So long, Beard: Jayson Werth signs with the Nationals

At least we will still be seeing plenty of the beard. As reported by multiple sources on Twitter, Jayson Werth has signed a 7 year, 126 million dollar deal with the Washington Nationals. Yes, you read that right, Werth has chosen to go to DC to play for the lowly Nationals.

Despite how they tried to spin it, signing Werth was never a viable option for the Phillies. By signing with the Nationals, Werth shows that all he ever wanted was the money and he wasn't concerned about playing on a winning team. The Phillies could never match the kind of long-term contract offers that Werth was getting on the open market and would only have signed him if he agreed to a hometown discount.

With the Werth saga out of the way, look for the Phillies to focus all of their efforts on signing a right-handed bat to platoon in right field with Domonic Brown. While some of the names out there aren't that exciting (Jeff Francoeur??), the Phillies have a definite need for a righty power bat now that their best one has left for DC.

Thanks for everything, Jayson Werth, and enjoy losing 90 games a year with the Nationals!

Werth hits walkoff homer, signs with Boras

Few athletes in Philadelphia are more polarizing to fans than Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth. Take Sunday, for example. First, Werth hit a huge 2-run homer to beat the Nationals in the bottom of the 9th. Later, word came out that Werth, an impending free agent, has signed on with baseball super-agent Scott Boras. You know, the guy that regularly asks for and gets mega-million dollar contracts for his clients. If Werth wasn't leaving after this season before, signing with Boras certainly seals his fate.

Let's start with the homer, however. Werth's game winner capped a 4-run 9th inning comeback to help the Phillies steal a game they had no business winning. What makes the homer even more important is that it kept the Phillies three games up on the Braves, who they will now face in a three game series that starts Monday. With the win, the Phillies have less pressure and can get by with just winning one game in the series and still have a two game margin in the division.

As for signing with Boras, it just confirms what most Phillies fans already knew: Werth is going for the big money this offseason. Going with Boras means that all hopes of Werth taking a hometown discount are gone and he will be playing for the Yankees or Red Sox or whoever bids the most for his services. Since this is likely his one chance to get a big contract, you can hardly blame Werth for hiring the biggest gun in the business to help him cash in.

Let's hope Werth can make a few more memories with the Phillies before he leaves at the end of the season. I, for one, will enjoy watching Domonic Brown take over in right field at the beginning of the 2011 season.
(AP PHOTO)

Can Jimmy Rollins hit? "You bet your sweet ass"

Hey, Charlie, can Jimmy Rollins still hit? According to Jayson Werth, his answer is priceless:

After J-Roll went 3 for 5 with a 3-run homer on Wednesday, I'd say Charlie Manuel knows what he's talking about.

End of an era? Moyer to the DL as Phillies pursue pitching help

We may have seen the last of Jamie Moyer in Philadelphia. According to Todd Zolecki on Twitter, the Phillies will place Moyer on the disabled list due to the left elbow strain he suffered against the Cardinals on Tuesday. The injury is believed to be similar to the one J.A. Happ suffered that kept him out for three months, meaning Moyer's season could very well done. Since Moyer's contract also runs out at the end of this year, it's possible that he won't be suiting up for the Phillies ever again. While you can bet he will try to continue his career if he is able to, this would certainly be a sad way to see Moyer leave the Phillies.

As for who will replace Moyer in the rotation, the Phillies are expected to call up Happ, who was pulled early from his start at Lehigh Valley and will probably join the team shortly.

Of course, bringing up Happ is only one piece of the puzzle since the Phillies have another rotation spot to fill. According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, the Phillies are working on a major trade that could see them bring in a top starting pitcher and then ship out Jayson Werth in a separate trade to get some prospects in return. The pitching names rumored to be targeted include top pitchers like Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren as well as lesser choices like Ben Sheets and Jeremy Guthrie. Look for the Phillies to try to bring in someone who they will have under contract for at least another season beyond this year since bringing in a rental would be a waste of their resources.

Should the Phillies deal Werth, minor league sensation Domonic Brown will step into his spot and play every day. While Brown is yet another lefty bat to add to an already lefty-heavy team, with the way he is tearing up Triple A he deserves a spot on the big club.

Expect the Phillies to make these moves quickly and not wait until the trade deadline; Ruben Amaro needs to get something done quickly if he wants to keep the Phillies rapidly diminishing playoff hopes alive.

Phillies news and notes: Madson is back, Werth to be moved?

Lots of news coming from the Phillies today as they look to finish out the first season on a positive note in a four game series with the Reds:

*Ryan Madson has been activated. Madson, who last pitched in late April, has been on the disabled list for almost two months after he broke his toe when he kicked a chair in frustration. Madson will be a welcome sight to the ragged Phillies bullpen. To make room, the Phillies sent Mike Zagurski back to the minors. Big Mike just doesn't seem ready for the majors right now.

*Carlos Ruiz began his rehab assignment yesterday. Expect Chooch to be back right after the All-Star break.

*Brian Schneider is back in the lineup tonight. Apparently his thumb is feeling a lot better; let's hope that's the last we've seen of Dane Sardinha.

*Finally, the biggest news of the day is something Buster Olney tweeted: the Phillies are talking with teams about the possibility of trading Jayson Werth with the hopes that the team could acquire a starting pitcher in return. This is a move that seems more and more likely to happen every day, what with Werth being a free agent at the end of the season and the Phillies slowly slipping further and further back in the division. While I would hate to see Werth go, if he's going to leave at the end of the season anyway, I would love for the Phillies to be able to turn him into Dan Haren or another starting pitcher of that ilk.

Phillies win home opener; lose Rollins, Werth to minor injuries

(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

It almost seems like nothing can stop the Phillies from winning this season. In their home opener on Wednesday against the Nationals, the Phils overcame a middling performance by a starting pitcher, an early offensive lull and injuries to two key players to still win the game, 7-4.

The injuries to Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth are likely to be the biggest story from the game. Rollins was announced as being in the starting lineup but was a late scratch due to a right calf strain. In his place, Juan Castro stepped in and played shortstop and led off. Werth's injury happened during the game; he left the game with hip soreness in the 7th after singling in the 6th. The Phillies have an off day tomorrow which will be good timing for each, though there is already talk that Rollins will have an MRI. I'm not one to speculate on injuries but both sound minor; we'll have to wait and hear about the results of Rollins' MRI but I would guess that neither player misses significant time.

As for the action on the field, it was really a tale of two innings. Cole Hamels looked solid for most of his 5 and 2/3rds innings but ran into issues in the 4th where he gave up three runs on a few weak hits by the Nationals, including a bloop double by pitcher Jason Marquis. While the good news for Hamels is that he wasn't hit particularly hard, the bad news was that he always seems to run into trouble at least once a game where he should have gotten out of an inning before any damage was done.

The Phillies offense also did most of their work in one inning as they scored 5 runs in the 5th. Juan Castro took advantage of the absence of Rollins and hit a one run double which was followed by a two run single by Placido Polanco and a two run home run by Chase Utley. For a Phillies offense that sleepwalked through the first three innings, they sure made up for Hamels' hiccup in a hurry.

The Phillies keep just keep on rolling through April. Sure, they haven't played a team with any real major league talent yet but it's still nice to see the Phillies beating up on teams they should have no problem with. You can only play the teams that are on your schedule and the Phillies are taking advantage of some weak opponents to help them get off to a great start. Hopefully it all continues when they play Florida and Atlanta next week.

Jayson Werth's Epic New Beard

Wow. Looks like Jayson Werth has replaced Eric Bruntlett's facial hair. Picture via Todd Zolecki on Twitter.

The Phillies are going back to the World Series!

(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

The Phillies are the TWO TIME National League Champions! I can get used to this!

Riding a four homer barrage, the Phillies dropped the Dodgers in Game Five of the NLCS, 10-4, to give them a 4-1 series win and clinch a return trip to the World Series. This game was never in doubt, with the offense jumping out early and the bullpen backing up a middling start by Cole Hamels with several good innings.

The offensive hero for the night was Jayson Werth, who belted two homers and had 4 RBI on the night. Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also added homers with the Flyin' Hawaiian adding 3 RBI to the mix. The Phillies once again showed that any hitter in their lineup can beat you, from J-Roll at the top to Mr. Choochtober, Carlos Ruiz, at the bottom.

Now the Phillies have to wait for their opponent, although it will very likely be the Yankees, who hold a 3-1 lead in the ALCS. The Yankees will be a tougher matchup than the Rays were last year, but with the resiliency the Phillies have shown, few can doubt they have what it takes to win another title.

Here is the schedule for the World Series. Remember that the AL has home field advantage because they won the All Star Game:

Game One: Wednesday, October 28th: NL @ AL
Game Two: Thursday, October 29th: NL @ AL
Game Three: Saturday, October 31st: AL @ NL
Game Four: Sunday, November 1st: AL @ NL
Game Five: Monday, November 2nd: AL @ NL
Game Six: Wednesday, November 4th: NL @ AL
Game Seven: Thursday, November 5th: NL @ AL

Anyway we can worry all about the World Series later since we have another week until it starts, it's time to celebrate! Let's celebrate the Phillies and their never-say-die attitude and their all-around greatness. It's hard to go to the World Series in back-to-back seasons but they made it look easy, rolling through the NL once again.

All it takes now is four more wins until they are repeat World F'n Champions!

Three things you can count on: Death, Taxes and Cliff Lee

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Stop me if you've heard this before: Cliff Lee dominated batter after batter and pitched a gem to lead the Phillies to a win. It sounds like a broken record, but Lee has done exactly that in each of his first four starts with the Phillies. On Wednesday night, Lee did it against the Diamondbacks in an 8-1 win, pitching an 11 strikeout complete game while giving up one unearned run on 2 hits. He had a no-hitter through 6 innings and each of his two hits allowed were singles.

I've run out of ways to describe how good Lee has been for the Phillies. The man has truly dominated National League hitters in his four starts, allowing only 3 earned runs in 33 innings, a sparkling 0.82 ERA. In that same span, Lee has also struck out 34 batters while walking only 6. More amazing has been Lee's consistency: in each outing with the Phillies, he has pitched at least 7 innings, gotten at least 6 strikeouts and allowed no more than 1 run. For those to be his worst stats in all of his outings with the Phillies is truly remarkable.

The game wasn't all Cliff Lee, the Phillies had some fireworks on offense as well. Jayson Werth continued his career year, belting a pair of homers to give him 27 on the season. Werth is currently on pace for 38 homers and 103 RBI, eye-popping numbers for someone who is supposedly the Phillies 5th best hitter. Also adding homers on the night were Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, who hit a 3 run bomb. For good measure, Cliff Lee also added a pair of hits into the offensive mix.

There are three things you can count on in life: death, taxes and Cliff Lee. Lee is currently in the middle of one of the most dominating stretches of games I have ever seen for a starting pitcher. Every time Lee takes the mound, Ruben Amaro looks a little more like a genius. To get this ace for the relatively small price the Phillies paid has to be the best move any team has made this season.

I've run out of ways to say it: Cliff Lee is the man.

The entire Phillies outfield is going to the All-Star Game

With Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran ruled out of the upcoming All-Star Game due to injury, NL manager Charlie Manuel needed a replacement, and he didn't have to look far. Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth has been added to the All-Star roster, meaning the entire Phillies outfield is going to St. Louis. The last time a team sent all three outfielders to the All-Star Game was 1995, when the Indians sent their starting trio.

While some may wonder why Pablo Sandoval wasn't added to the roster after he barely lost to Shane Victorino in the Final Vote, Werth is certainly a deserving selection. Werth hit his 20th homer yesterday and is on pace for a ridiculous 40 homer, 117 runs, 107 RBI season.

The All-Star news just keeps getting better for the Phillies. There is also talk that Shane Victorino may even be a starter for the NL since the team doesn't have anyone else who is a natural center fielder. Ah, the perks of being World Champs.

Fun with Phillies Projections, Hitters Edition

Now that we are more than a quarter of the way through the baseball season, the season is really starting to take shape. The quarter pole is the time to start looking at numbers to find the trends and the flukes. Let's take a look at some of the actual projected statistics for a selection of Phillies hitters and see if there is any chance they can meet these numbers:

Raul Ibanez
Current: 17 HR, 43 RBI
Projected: 64 HR, 162 RBI
Considering his career high in homers is 33, there is little chance that Ibanez will continue to be this hot, although he still seems a likely candidate to get a least 40 homers and 120 RBI. Ibanez has to be loving the transition from a pitchers park in Seattle to Citizens Bank.

Chase Utley
Current: 11 HR, 31 RBI
Projected: 43 HR, 121 RBI
While those numbers pale in comparison with Ibanez, Utley is crushing the ball this season. Those totals would dwarf his previous career high's by 10 homers and 16 RBI. Of course, with Utley, it's all about staying healthy. If he can remain in the lineup every day and close to 90%, he should at least get to 40 homers.

Jimmy Rollins
Current: 6 steals
Projected: 23 steals
A lot has been said about J-Roll's slump this season, and he can't steal bases if he doesn't get on them. Rollins hasn't stolen under 30 bases since 2003, and he has already started turning things around (4 steals in the last 10 games), so expect him to get close to 40 again.

Jayson Werth
Current: 8 HR, 8 steals
Projected: 31 HR, 31 steals
Werth was a 20/20 guy last year, can he make the leap to a 30/30 guy? I say doubtful, especially when you factor in that half of his steals came in one game. Werth has a shot at 25/25, which is still a darn good season.

Ryan Howard
Current: 51 strikeouts, 2 steals, 0 errors
Projected: 192 strikeouts, 8 steals, 0 errors
Howard had 4 career steals entering this season, he's absolutely tearing up the base paths this year. Those strikeouts are in line with his career averages, so expect the big man to continue K'ing at least once a game. The fielding seems like a legit turn-around, he had 19 errors last season and has made a concerted effort to become a much better fielder.

John Mayberry
Current: 1 HR, 3 RBI
Projected: 61 HR, 183 RBI
Small sample size be damned, those numbers seem about right!

Check back later for a look at projections for the Phillies pitchers.

Werth helps Phillies steal one from Dodgers

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Maybe Jayson Werth should be the new lead-off man for the Phillies?

In a game that saw Charlie Manuel drop Jimmy Rollins from the lead-off spot to 5th in the batting order, Jayson Werth made his case for taking over the top spot in the order when he stole four bases against the Dodgers in a 5-3 Phillies victory.

Werth stole his first base in the 2nd inning, then proceeded to steal second, third and home all in the 7th inning after singling his way on base. Werth's steal of home was the first for the Phillies since Carlos Ruiz did it in 2007, although Ruiz's steal was on the back end of a double steal. Werth also tied the Phillie record for steals in a game and was the first player to steal second, third and home all in the same inning since 1996. The Phillies also got two more steals on the night, one from Jimmy Rollins and the other from Ryan Howard of all people. Every steal was against Dodgers catcher Russell Martin; apparently the Phillies did their homework on how to steal on that guy.

With all of the amazing steals, Werth managed to overshadow another strong performance by Chan Ho Park, who solidified his spot in the rotation by going 6 innings and giving up only 2 runs. Jamie Moyer now appears to be the low man in the Phillies rotation.

As for Rollins, I have been hoping the Phillies would drop him from the top spot for a while now. Despite his claim that he only wants to be a lead-off hitter, J-Roll was never the type of player you want atop the order. A drop in the lineup, even if it's only temporary, should get Rollins motivated to get his act together and stop swinging at the first pitch all the time.

The win helps the Phillies stay one game behind the first place Mets. If Jayson Werth can keep up this prowess on the base paths, it should only be a matter of time before the Phils get back atop the NL East.

Werth every penny: Phils sign outfielder to two year deal

Another day, another Phillies signing. At least we know that new GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is keeping busy.

The latest Phillie to sign is Jayson Werth, who agreed to a 2 year deal with the Phillies worth 10 million dollars in total. He will make 3 million next season and 7 million in 2010. The contract takes him through his remaining arbitration years.

This is another deal where the Phillies got pretty good value. An average of 5 million per year for a guy who hit 24 homers and drove in 67 RBI while sharing playing time is quite a bargin. I would expect Werth's role to continue to grow, especially since the departure of Pat Burrell leaves Werth as the biggest right handed bat in the lineup.

Credit has to be given to the Phillies for working hard to secure all of these key players to deals and avoiding arbitration. Ryan Howard will remain the elephant in the room for the next few weeks but Amaro has done well to lock up the core of the team that won the World Series.

The Phillies now have just two players who are arbitration-eligible: Chad Durbin and Howard. Expect Durbin to be signed in the coming days.

Phillies Weekend in Review: Werth helps Phils earn split with Cubs, Benson released

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

After a rough start to the series against the Cubs, the Phillies finished out strong this weekend, winning a pair of games against the best team in the National League. They were helped on Sunday by the late scratch of Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano, but the Phillies played some good baseball to earn both victories.

Jayson Werth was the story of the weekend, going a combined 5 for 8 at the plate with 3 homers and 7 runs batted in. Werth's red-hot bat single-handedly carried the offense and he is starting to put together some great numbers on the season. He now has 21 homers and 56 RBI to go with a .282 batting average. Pretty good numbers for a guy who doesn't play every day.

The pitching staff also deserves credit for a solid effort this weekend. On Saturday, Brett Myers continued his dominating ways in striking out 8 batters and earning his 5th win since his return to the majors. Myers looks better than he ever has and is still sporting an ERA well below 2 since his return. The bullpen was huge as well, with J.C. Romero getting the Phillies out of a big jam on Saturday and Brad Lidge saving both games in perfect 1-2-3 fashion.

The Phillies remain 1 game behind the Mets for first place but they now get a break with a series with the Nationals starting Monday. The Mets, on the other hand, will face a tough Brewers team before welcoming the Phillies to New York for a big series next weekend. With 25 games left, every game is huge from this point forward.

Benson gone Sorry, Anna Benson fans, the Kris Benson era is over in Philadelphia. Benson signed a minor league deal with the Phillies with the hope that he would be the first player called up should they need rotation help but he took so long to get healthy that several better options emerged. Benson didn't fit into the Phillies plans for the rest of the year, so the team simply released him. This isn't really that big of a loss considering the Phillies simply took a flier on Benson and he didn't pan out. Perhaps he'll catch on with another team desperate for pitching, or desperate for Anna.

Werth saves Phillies on "Campaign Cheer" Night

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Tonight was "Campaign Cheer" night at the ballpark, a creation of the guys over at We Should Be GM's, and the Phillies woke up just in time to give the home crowd a win over the Washington Nationals. Joe Blanton had a short, unsuccessful outing for the Phillies which left the team in a 4-1 hole in the top of the 5th, but the Phillies fought back to tie the game and then eventually win it on a Jayson Werth homer in the 8th inning. Brad Lidge then came in and did what he does best and slammed the door on the Nationals to give the Phillies a 5-4 win.

It was an interesting night at the ballpark, to say the least, in Jimmy Rollins' first game at home since his "frontrunner" comments. I wasn't at the game, but from what I heard during the television broadcast, Rollins was pretty heartily booed for most of the night, although there were occasions when you could hear some faint cheering. He got booed loudly each time he got out in his first three trips to the plate, but in his fourth at-bat, after he hit a long, loud out deep into the outfield, you could hear plenty of cheering. Other than the booing for Rollins, the crowd didn't sound too different from a normal game, so it will be interesting to hear whether the "Campaign Cheer" group feel like their efforts were successful or not.

Anyway, back to the game. The Phillies did pull out a win, but it ended up being a pretty tough game considering how bad the Nationals are. The Nationals do always seem to play the Phils tough, so hopefully there is no one looking past them at the Dodgers series looming for this weekend. Seeing as how the Nationals have lost 11 straight, even this offensively challenged Phillies team should be able to make short work of them.

Phillie rumor round-up: Maddux won't come to Philly, Werth on the block?

With the trade deadline about 24 hours away, two new Phillie rumors have surfaced, both come via MLB Trade Rumors:

Maddux won't come East The Phillies are still searching for pitching and asked the Padres about Greg Maddux, who has the right to refuse any trade. Maddux has repeatedly said he will only accept a trade to a West Coast team, so he has declined to go to Philadelphia. This rumor won't amount to anything, but it does show the Phils are still interested in bringing in a starting pitcher.

Werth being scouted Here's a new one that seems odd. The Tampa Bay Rays are scouting Jayson Werth, who apparently could be had in the right deal. Trading Werth would be a curious move for the Phillies, unless they plan on bringing in another outfielder. And, no, this isn't a sign that Manny Ramirez is coming to Philly. After speculation picked up again that the Phillies were his likely destination, most "in the know" once again think Manny isn't going anywhere.

Werth to the DL, Bohn called up

Jayson Werth took a big swing in Thursday's game against the Astros and now he finds himself on the 15 day disabled list. Werth swung hard and missed and in the process strained his right abdominal muscle:

Werth has been held hitless in 13 at-bats since his huge 3 homer game on May 16th so the time off might do him good.

Non-prospect T.J. Bohn was called up from Triple A Lehigh Valley to take Werth's place. Bohn was up earlier in the year when Shane Victorino went down and hit a mere .143 although he did hit a homer in 14 at-bats. I would expect So Taguchi to get more playing time until Werth comes back.

Werth his weight in gold

(AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr.)

A little over a year ago myself and most of Philadelphia had a nickname for Jayson Werth: Werthless. After his effort Friday night in the Phils 10-3 win over the Blue Jays, I will never call him that name again.

Werth had a record breaking night, hitting a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the game. He hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd, a grand slam in the 3rd and a solo shot in the 5th to give him 8 RBIs on the night, a number that ties the Phillie franchise record for RBI in a game. Werth missed a chance to add a fourth homer in the 7th inning when he fouled out. It was an absolutely amazing effort, just look at his stat line for the game:

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Werth CF	4	3	3	8	0	0	0	.288

Four Phillies have had 8 RBI games in their history: Kitty Bransfeld (1910), Gavvy Cravath (1915), Willie Jones (1958) and most recently Mike Schmidt (1976). While I have never heard of the other three, Werth has to feel pretty special to share a record with Schmidt.

The night belonged to Werth offensively and Jamie Moyer put together a decent start on the mound. Moyer had just one bad inning in the 4th but otherwise he gave up several hits that led to little damage on the scoreboard.

Highlights of Werth's historic night: