Larry Brown Sports

Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth hit a prodigious blast during his team’s spring training game Sunday, but there’s a twist that adds more intrigue to the story.

According to a parking lot attendant, bartender, and two people dining at the Tiki bar beyond left field at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fl., the ball sailed over the fence, and carromed off a palm tree onto the bumper of Werth’s pickup truck.

Werth initially was skeptical of the report because he didn’t park his car.

“But that is usually where I park it, over in that direction,” Werth said after the game. “It could be just a rumor, folklore. … I have to go out there and check it out. If it’s dented or smashed or cracked or shattered, I kind of foresee it staying that way for a while. I think they are just messing with me, but who knows?”

The Washington Post estimated the home run, Werth’s third of the spring, traveled 492 feet. Maybe the Nats need to invest in some “Werth tents” after that.

Forearm bash to Hot Clicks
Photo Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE

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Jayson Werth has struggled in his first season with the Nats and D.C. drinkers will reap the benefits. According to NBC Washington via NESN.com, Duffy’s Irish Pub in D.C. plans to have prices on certain beers discounted to reflect Werth’s low batting average.

“During the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, you can order PBR tallboys, Buds and High Lifes for whatever Werth’s batting average is at the time. For example, if the promotion started right now, at the time of publication, Werth’s .211 batting average would mean $2.11 brewskies.”

The bar wrote on its facebook page that they’re just having fun with Werth but they want him to turn it around. I’ll say they’re just taking the lead from this bar in Seattle.

The Nats admitted they overpaid when they signed Werth as a free agent to a seven-year $126 million deal in the offseason. Nobody should have expected Werth to repeat his success with the Phillies; Werth is in a larger park and has less support in the lineup. Still, seeing him hit in the low-.200s is a surprise. Maybe he heard about the promotion and was insulted because he went 3-for-5 with a home run Wednesday to raise his batting average to a whopping .218. Even .218 is a steal for bar-goers.

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Quick, someone alert Don Henley: it appears the boys of summer have gone. The worst part about it is that it isn’t even June yet. At some point over the last six weeks you probably can remember how one player or another made you crazy and remember how they made you scream. Go ahead. Take a look at any of the box scores from recent Major League Baseball games. I’ll wait. (It’s not like I have anything better to do at the moment.) Big name signings like Jayson Werth (.228), Adam Dunn (.184), Carl Crawford (.210), and Vernon Wells (.183) have suffered a greater fall than Humpty Dumpty. Even guys who have been traditionally strong hitters have struggled, like Albert Pujols (.268), Raul Ibanez (.231), Magglio Ordonez (.172), and Justin Morneau (.204), not including the San Diego Padres, who started five guys on Sunday afternoon hitting .245 or less. It may take more than the king’s horses and men (with a few million thrown in) to put these helpless schlemiels back together again.

If this continues, they might reconsider Mario Mendoza for the baseball Hall of Fame (the American one, he is already in Mexico’s Baseball Hall of Fame believe it or not). Mario’s baseball immortality stems from the fact that he carved out an eight-year baseball career while hitting a less-than-stout .215. From his uncanny ability to do what was necessary to avoid getting on base, the expression “Mendoza Line” found its way into baseball vernacular. So anytime a batter has an average of less than .200 (or less than George W. Bush’s approval rating), he is said to be hitting below the Mendoza Line. Well if old is the new new and 50 is the new 40, then why can’t hitting .200 be the new .300?

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It almost feels like Christmas in December. It’s baseball’s annual right of passage, winter free agent signings that net sums of money so ghastly even hedge fund managers are blushing. At this rate, the good folks at Major League Baseball may have to change the name to World $eries. The holidays are upon us, but don’t be confused. That slightly rotund fellow wearing red ain’t Santy Claus, it’s Lance Berkman, who last season ho-ho-hummed his way to a .248 batting average yet still Madoff with eight million dollars from the Cardinals. Nope, there’s no jolly old Saint Nick Punto or Johnson (they haven’t been signed yet).

What’s a Jayson worth you ask? Well, aside from the gross misspelling (someone should let him know already), how about a tidy $126 million over seven years. Forget a spruce, the Nats’ new addition may now hang his ornaments on a sequoia. I thought the folks in Washington DC were trying to rein in wasteful spending. He’d better do well in the nation’s capital or else someone in the Nationals’ front office made a huge Boehner. Ostensibly, there were no three wise men behind that deal.

Each year, baseball’s general managers descend on Florida like so many aging retirees who sport various shades of vibrantly-colored plaid pants. Both come in search of early bird specials. The only difference is that Dave Dombrowski is more likely to splurge on an overcooked piece of meat than, say, Uncle Mort. One can only imagine the reaction of Joaquin Benoit, a 33-year-old right-hander signed by the Tigers for $16.5 million despite the fact he has a career ERA approaching the Michigan state sales tax and a less-than-stellar 31-28 career record. He may be dashing through the snow in the Motor City, but can probably now afford more than one horse to pull that open sleigh (though convertibles are not really trendy in the D in the middle of winter).

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On a day where the Red Sox may have become the biggest losers of the MLB off-season by missing out on San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez, Jayson Werth worth became the clear-cut winner.  The Winter Meetings are a day away, but the former Phillies outfielder is going to go down as baseball’s luckiest man of the year after signing with the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon.

Washington signed Werth to a seven-year, $126 million deal.  It’s a big splash for the Nationals, who are trying to add some established stars to their crop of young talent, but the length of the deal is outrageous.  Werth will be 32 years old in May.  He’s hit over 80 RBI and surpassed 25 home runs only twice in his career.  Werth also struck out more than 140 times during those two seasons, which were his last two with the Phillies.

I guess that’s why Scott Boras is the best in the business.  Ryan Howard is the same age as Werth and a perennial 40-plus homer 125-plus RBI guy, yet the Phillies caught a ton of flack for signing him to a five-year, $125 million extension.  Somehow Boras convinced Washington to sign Werth through age 39 at top dollar.  Come to think of it, I may even assume someone from the Nationals’ front office was drunk when this entire thing went down.

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Also check out Alan Hull’s AL Playoff Preview

As the season wraps up and the National League contenders begin to separate themselves from one another, here is a look at some key players to watch down the stretch and through October.

ATLANTA BRAVES
Derrek Lee: There is no better way to add zeroes to the back of your next contract than to perform in the post-season when the stakes are the highest and all of baseball is watching. Lee will be looking to sign one last lucrative contract after this season. He had an opportunity to reinvent himself upon being traded to Atlanta, with the hopes he would replace some of the production lost when Chipper Jones went down. Lee responded by hitting a decent .289/.375/.433 since the trade. He will get another chance to start over in October and a few big hits will go a long way for his financial future.

Tommy Hanson: Tim Hudson has had a big season for the Braves, but has faded a bit down the stretch. Hanson, however, is the Braves most talented pitcher and has flown under the radar due to a mediocre win-loss record. This post-season may be a coming-out party for the 23-year-old future ace.

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Phillies All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth caused a mini-stir by showing up to Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida sporting shaggy hair and a long beard to match. Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com shared a few pictures of Werth in his most recent post. Here’s the new version of Johnny Damon — Jayson Werth and his beard:

That sure is an impressive beauty and it looks like it took all off-season to grow. What’s even more jarring is comparing the bearded Werth picture to one of him when he was drafted by the Orioles. The 700 Level tracked the evolution of Werth’s face and it is priceless. Now if you’re wondering why Werth has the bearded look, here’s his answer: “I think everybody knows the situation. It’s no secret.” Thanks Jayson, like that helps. If I get any more information I’ll be sure to pass it along.

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