All Eyes on Werth, Ibañez in Phils-Nats Series

By Amy McCormick

We had all been waiting for Jayson Werth to return to Philadelphia for the first time as part of the Washington Nationals.  How would he be received?  Some Phils fans couldn’t wait to heckle him, while others said they would welcome him back with appreciation, since he was part of our 2008 championship team.  The result?  Well, it sort of started out with some booing that led to a standing ovation and a lot of applause for his first at-bat.  He recognized the fans with a tip of his helmet.  On MLB Network Radio, Charlie Manuel said, “They definitely have a warm spot in their heart for Jayson, ‘cause he played good here.”  I suppose I’m part of the minority, then.

Werth hit a dismal .221 in the month of April, and didn’t exactly win me over with his 2 for 10 in the series against the Phils.  That, to me, solidifies my opinion that he doesn’t perform on a team that struggles.  I maintain that DC made a comically awful deal when they signed Werth.   

Meanwhile, the Phillies have much to celebrate.  Not only did they sweep the Nats, but Raul Ibañez finally abandoned his 0-35 batting slump.  That’s right.  Zero hits in 35 at-bats.  My patience had worn thin, but Charlie Manuel, always loyal to his players, insisted that he would shake it off.  I wondered how long he would let this go on before he wised up and played Mayberry.

This was not a gradual climb out of a slump.

Ibañez went 8 for 12 in the three game series (not a typo).  This includes two homeruns and five RBIs. Welcome back, Mr. Ibañez.  We’ve missed you.  It’s nice to see an offense that isn’t merely a Howard-Polanco effort.  Hopefully this streak is longer than that terrible slump was.  I don’t mind being proven wrong when it benefits the team this much.