Brian from BoSox Injection Will be Happy to Take J-Dub Off Our Hands
By Justin Klugh
Hello, faithful reader! That is not a typo. Because I don’t give a shit to update all the time, I sometimes go find other, better writers to step in and show me how its done. Remember that time the guy from Chris Sabos’ Goggles predicted a Reds NLDS victory? And that nice lady from Braves Love was like “These are the Braves that could just wreck your shit anytime they want.”
Well, suspicions are high that Jayson Werth might be taking the Bolt Bus up to Boston, so I wrangled some words from Brian Phair of BoSox Injection, and here they are. Read my corresponding, angrier thoughts over on his site today as well.
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Phillies’ fans. Being the closest geographic NL team to Boston, the Red Sox and Phillies have a natural, special bond. Ok, so New York is much closer, but no one likes the Mets, or at least no one should admit they like the Mets, so close enough. Geography aside, this off-season has created a different bond between the two cities and his name is Jayson Werth.
Let me start with a story.
I got married in May (many thanks to Justin for stepping in to keep BoSox Injection afloat for the few weeks while I was on my honeymoon) (EDITOR’S NOTE: I concur that I am awesome). One of my groomsmen got us a perfect wedding present: a pair of Red Sox tickets at Fenway. He assured me they were great seats, but the actual tickets hadn’t been shipped in time. A few weeks later, we get back from our honeymoon, only to find out that the game we have tickets for is about a week away and it is against the Phillies.
I was pumped because I had never seen the Phillies play live, and interleague games bring new faces to the park. We get the tickets in the mail days before the game and low and behold, the seats are front row, on the field, next to the Phillies dugout.
We get to the game and find our seats. I have had great seats before, but nothing compared to front row at Fenway next to the away dugout. After chatting up the security person, we discover that these seats are in the Red Sox owner’s box (aside: later in the game, Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino and his family sat next to us). We are on cloud nine and basically spent batting practice a few feet away from giant Ryan Howard and the rest of the team.
Here’s why I’m telling you my long-winded story.
We got a taste of the real Jayson Werth and his interactions with his teammates. He was one of the most anti-social members of the Phillies club all throughout batting practice and as the game began. He took his swings in the cage, then without saying a word to anyone, pulled out his cell phone, went to the end of the bench and proceeded to isolate himself as everyone else was warming up, stretching and shooting the breeze.
Throughout the game, he rarely interacted with his teammates, walking around with a pissed-off scowl underneath his wooly mammoth facial hair. At one point, after striking out, a few of the kind, gentle and sober Sox fans a few rows behind us began yelling at him and taunting him. I will never forget how terrified I was, thinking that Werth was going to dive into the stands and beat the shit out of them, taking us as his victims along the way.
The look on his face was pure evil. It may be unfair to judge Werth by that one afternoon, but his first impression was not a pretty one.
The story aside, Werth certainly can hit for serious power at times and has to be considered a top tier player, but is he the type of guy the Sox want in their clubhouse? He is a streaky as hell player that can light up your life when he is on and drag a team down when he is struggling, making me nervous about his potential tenure in Boston. That being said, it’s hard to argue with his 2010 numbers (.296 average, 27 home runs and 85 rbis).
At the end of the day, if he gets the job done at the plate and in the field, he will be more loved and appreciated in Boston than J.D. Drew (EDITOR’S NOTE: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! *whips battery*) has been.
All in all, Werth is only 31 and has hit 24, 36 and 27 home runs in his past 3 seasons with the Phillies. He hits in the upper .200s and plays a strong outfield (4 errors in 2010), which would make him a welcome addition to the 2011 Red Sox if the Sox were to sign him. The Sox are likely going to exhaust all options with Carl Crawford before tying up Werth, but he is a solid #2 option on the list. He does have one thing going for him…the Red Sox seem to have a thing for long hair, bearded players…
–Brian