The Phillies-Nationals weekend showed that the Nationals might be able to keep up with the Phillies.
But it also ended badly for the Nats and their star right fielder, former Phillies Jayson Werth.
Werth, who left Philly for a mega $126-million deal with the Nats last offseason, suffered an ugly left wrist injury as he tried to make a sliding grab on Placido Polanco's sinking liner in the sixth inning.
“It's a clean break,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said after the Nationals' 9-3 loss to the Phils. “He's going to be out for a while.”
Anyone who slow-moed the play on their DVR could see how ugly Werth’s injury appears to be. CSNWashington.com reports he is at least out six weeks but that the injury could keep him out longer after he gets it examined.
It could be devastating considering the 32-year-old's wrist injury history. Werth missed the entire 2006 season after an injury to his left wrist which placed his career in jeopardy. He broke the wrist in spring training 2005 with the Dodgers and played 102 games that season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in the wrist.
He joined Philadelphia in 2007 and became an All-Star outfielder in his four seasons there before signing with the Nats and becoming one of the most talked about opposing players for Phillies fans.
Werth has struggled to live up to his deal with the Nats batting just .238/.336/.396 with 23 homers and 70 RBIs in 177 games with Washington. One of his biggest flaws with the Nats has been his inability to get runners home. He is batting just .192 with runners in scoring position this season -- a number that was even worse until his three-run homer off Vance Worley Saturday.
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Despite his failures in D.C. and the fact that he took the money and ran from the Phils, no fan of the game -- even Phillies fan -- should take joy in this type of injury.
Considering Werth’s history of wrist problems, one can only hope that he simply suffered a clean break and nothing worse. It would be nice to see him back playing the Phillies this season.
