For the past year, I have been very vocal in my displeasure with Washington Nationals’ right fielder, Jayson Werth. In my other blog, I have referred to him as “Werth-less,” “lousy,” and “just plain awful.” (You can check out my other blog on http://www.prosportsblogging.com/) Well, I’m happy to say that Mr. Werth is finally hitting, and in doing so has given himself a batting average of .362 (tenth in the Majors) with a .444 on-base percentage (OBP).
So what has Werth done recently to break out of last year’s funk? Some say it’s the fact that first baseman Adam LaRoche has been effectively getting on base before Werth (LaRoche has hit in 8 of his last 10 games and has a current .333 batting average); others say Werth is “seeing the ball better” (something that this legally-blind blogger doesn’t quite understand!). Whatever the reason, Nationals fans are happy that he is hitting and no longer has to be booed by Nats fans.
Jayson Werth is currently third in the Majors with 17 hits, and so far he has had 6 multi-hit games. He looks pretty solid in right field, and manager Davey Johnson has said that right field is where Werth will stay (there were rumors during the off-season that Werth was going to be moved to center field). The $126-million-dollar “Boras Boy” will be with the Nationals until 2017, and hopefully will continue producing consistently.
So on another note… Did you notice that the Nationals are 1 ½ games in front of the Mets in first place in the National League East? Despite their .348 combined slugging percentage, the Nats are on top of their division, due largely in part to their stellar pitching. The Nationals' starting rotation has combined to post a 1.69 ERA this season, which is by far the best in the league. Nats starters have also held opposing hitters to just a .179 batting average, which makes Nationals’ sluggers breathe a sigh of relief. Third-baseman and #3 in the lineup, Ryan Zimmerman, is off to a slow start, as is catcher Wilson Ramos. In an ideal world, the pitchers would continue to be stellar and the offense could continue to relax. But since this is not Oz or Disney World or some made-up perfect world, Nationals’ batters need to start doing some more hitting – Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth cannot carry this team by themselves!
In non-Nationals news, did you hear about Jamie Moyer? He's a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, and last night he became the oldest pitcher in history to earn a win. Jamie is 49 and still going strong - I remember him playing when I was in college, and that was a LONG time ago! Nolan Ryan always comes to mind when thinking of old pitchers, but Moyer has Ryan beat. I know I've mentioned Jamie before, but I had to give him a shout-out after his first victory this season. Way to go, old man!
Oh, and the Orioles! I have to mention them, because they too are in first place in their division, with a 7-4 record. Adam Jones had hit safely in every game this season until last night, and left fielder Nolan Reimold has homered in 4 consecutive games. I know it's early, but wouldn't a Nationals/Orioles World Series be something totally exciting? That's not going to happen, but I had to mention it since the two DC-area teams are in first place (for now). Let's see how long that lasts...
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