Jayson Werth is Delusional

One one hand, you can't fault Jayson Werth for trying to make the best out of what is destined to be a bad situation for a number of years. It's going to take a few more rounds worth of can't miss prospects and some incredibly lucky free agent finds before the Nationals are a competitive team. On the other hand, he may just be out of his mind...

“Last year when we played the Mets, there weren’t any Mets fans in the seats,” Werth said. “They wouldn’t dare come down. I think four years from now, it’ll be the same way in Washington. Or sooner.”

First of all, I completely disagree. While there may have been more Mets fans at CBP in years past, their proximity to Philadelphia makes them plentiful in our ballpark regardless of their record. I would say that Yankees and Red Sox fans are the only larger groups at CBP (arguably the case with every stadium in the country.)

But more importantly, Jayson, the Nats are still the Nats. While I think it's great for baseball that our nation's capitol has a team with an owner that is willing to spend some money to produce a competitive product, Jayson Werth's 4 year prediction probably isn't realistic. The Mets are a rare case of implosion due to financial woes and terrible management. Don't expect the rest of the division to fall off the wagon in the same fashion.  The Braves are on the rise and have as much young talent as any team in the game. The Marlins are loaded with Logan Morrisons and Mike Stantons (and hardly a single player on their roster over 30). The Phillies are in their prime with a surprisingly well stocked farm system. And the Mets... well, okay Jayson, you win that one.

Like it or not, this Jayson Werth vs. Philadelphia story line is going to exist for a little while longer. When he makes his first visit to Citizens Bank Park on May 3rd, prepare to hear some boos. Hell, there's a pretty solid chance he'll get boo'd at his home stadium tonight with a crowd that is destined to be almost 50% Phillies fans once again. But you probably won't hear them from me. He was a nice player, but I neither miss him, nor hold any ill will. He took the money and ran... but who wouldn't? If I was offered $126M dollars to blog about the Mets, we'd be talking about Carlos Beltran right now and there would be a Jose Reyes Bobblehead on my desk instead of Jimmy Rollins. He was a scrap heap project that Charlie Manuel was successful with, but I think guys like him can grow on trees. Despite the numbers he put up the past two years, he's far from a polished hitter. Todd Zolecki just posted up a series of rankings for Jayson Werth's numbers and he falls in the mid 20s for most categories. A good, but probably not great player (and certainly not one worth $100M +). I cringe watching him drop to one knee after a hack that was 12" away from the ball. He was brutal with RISP last season. And I'm a firm believer that Ben Francisco's early success as an every day player this year is no fluke. This lineup simply gives opportunities for guys like Werth & Francisco to see strikes.

The Nationals are 21-51 against the Phillies in the last 4 years for a .291 win %. Don't expect that to change in the next four years, Jayson.