After signing himself away to a moribund franchise who will probably start the next MLB season at odds of about 500/1 to win it all, you could justifiably ask ‘How does Jayson Werth sleep at night?’
He would probably answer, ‘Butt naked on a bed of money’.
That is of course if he was honest about it.
The baseball world was mildly stunned over the weekend as the former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth signed a $126 million, seven-year contract to play baseball for the Washington Nationals. You might remember the Nationals as the awful team that misspelled their name on the front of their own jerseys a couple of years ago, the ‘Natinals’. That simple mistake was a lovely metaphor for years and years of complete ineptitude on their part on and off the diamond.
The deal stinks worse than a dead rat in a sewer on several levels.
This is not a good deal for the Nationals, and the deal makes Werth a pathetic liar for coming out with the usual ‘I just want to win’ comments.
First of all, Werth, 31, hit .296 with 27 home runs, an NL-leading 46 doubles, 85 RBIs, and a career-best 106 runs last season. Good numbers, built on the foundation of playing amongst a good team. However Werth will not have Ryan Howard, Chase Utley or Shane Victorino to protect his bat in the lineup in Washington. Werth in fact will be asked to carry extra responsibility and therefore will have pitchers pitching him extra carefully. His numbers will probably all come down, except his walks and OBP. The basic premise for that conclusion is, no pitcher is going to let Werth beat them, they will just pitch to the next guy. 106 runs? He will be lucky to score 70 next season, playing for the Nationals.
The deal is a complete clanger for Washington, did they check Werth’s birth certificate? Do they realise he is 31, going on 32 shortly? As Werth approaches 40 the Nationals will be paying him close to $18 million to chase down fly balls in the outfield. There is no DH in the National League, so either Werth is going to play several years in his late 30s running around the outfield or he is going to be the most expensive pinch hitter in MLB history. Ridiculous long term planning on the part of the Nationals. Make no mistake, this is an absolute albatross of a deal on their part. The new GM of the Mets. Sandy Alderson, wasted no time in slating it.
Once anyone to do with the Mets is making fun of your deals, you know you have made a boo-boo.
As for Werth, how on earth is this a good deal for him, you know, apart from the boat loads of dollar bills? Naturally, it didn’t take long for yet another idiot athlete to try and insult the rest of the worlds intelligence with the cliché about winning. In Werth’s case;
Seriously, for once, can an athlete not just come out and be honest to himself and everyone else, say it, I moved for the money!! I moved for the dollar bills, ya’ll! I don’t care if my team is bottom of the pile, I be getting paaaid!’
Well, here’s to Jayson Werth, here’s hoping that bed of money and the knowledge that he will never spend that money if he lived seven times over keeps him happy late at night as he ponders another 70-92 season playing for the God awful Nationals. Or, Natinals.
Linkage
He would probably answer, ‘Butt naked on a bed of money’.
That is of course if he was honest about it.
The baseball world was mildly stunned over the weekend as the former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth signed a $126 million, seven-year contract to play baseball for the Washington Nationals. You might remember the Nationals as the awful team that misspelled their name on the front of their own jerseys a couple of years ago, the ‘Natinals’. That simple mistake was a lovely metaphor for years and years of complete ineptitude on their part on and off the diamond.
The deal stinks worse than a dead rat in a sewer on several levels.
This is not a good deal for the Nationals, and the deal makes Werth a pathetic liar for coming out with the usual ‘I just want to win’ comments.
First of all, Werth, 31, hit .296 with 27 home runs, an NL-leading 46 doubles, 85 RBIs, and a career-best 106 runs last season. Good numbers, built on the foundation of playing amongst a good team. However Werth will not have Ryan Howard, Chase Utley or Shane Victorino to protect his bat in the lineup in Washington. Werth in fact will be asked to carry extra responsibility and therefore will have pitchers pitching him extra carefully. His numbers will probably all come down, except his walks and OBP. The basic premise for that conclusion is, no pitcher is going to let Werth beat them, they will just pitch to the next guy. 106 runs? He will be lucky to score 70 next season, playing for the Nationals.
The deal is a complete clanger for Washington, did they check Werth’s birth certificate? Do they realise he is 31, going on 32 shortly? As Werth approaches 40 the Nationals will be paying him close to $18 million to chase down fly balls in the outfield. There is no DH in the National League, so either Werth is going to play several years in his late 30s running around the outfield or he is going to be the most expensive pinch hitter in MLB history. Ridiculous long term planning on the part of the Nationals. Make no mistake, this is an absolute albatross of a deal on their part. The new GM of the Mets. Sandy Alderson, wasted no time in slating it.
''I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington. Makes some of our contracts look pretty good, It’s a long time and a lot of money.’’
Once anyone to do with the Mets is making fun of your deals, you know you have made a boo-boo.
As for Werth, how on earth is this a good deal for him, you know, apart from the boat loads of dollar bills? Naturally, it didn’t take long for yet another idiot athlete to try and insult the rest of the worlds intelligence with the cliché about winning. In Werth’s case;
''I signed here to win, and I believe that we’re going to win''Jason, your new team finished rock bottom last year! They have a completely pathetic record the last decade, they are perennial losers and you can realistically say they have about a 5% chance of winning the World Series in the next five years.
Seriously, for once, can an athlete not just come out and be honest to himself and everyone else, say it, I moved for the money!! I moved for the dollar bills, ya’ll! I don’t care if my team is bottom of the pile, I be getting paaaid!’
Well, here’s to Jayson Werth, here’s hoping that bed of money and the knowledge that he will never spend that money if he lived seven times over keeps him happy late at night as he ponders another 70-92 season playing for the God awful Nationals. Or, Natinals.
Linkage
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