Nationals’ Jayson Werth Breaks His Wrist During Sunday Night’s Loss to the Phillies
Washington Nationals‘ manager Davey Johnson confirmed that Jayson Werth broke his wrist while fielding a fly ball tonight during the Nationals’ loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, stating he doesn’t expect Jayson Werth back for at least six weeks. This adds another injury to the list of things the Washington Nationals have to overcome to become the 2012 National League East Champion.
First, there was the self-imposed innings limit on the wunderkind Stephen Strasburg. Then, Michael Morse – their biggest power threat – gets injuring during Spring Training, keeping him out until June. Then, Ryan Zimmerman had shoulder problems, shelving him for a couple weeks. Then, Adam LaRoche is day-to-day with whatever he’s dealing with. And now, Jayson Werth – the only good player they had left that is over the age of 25 – breaks his wrist on a freak play. I’m in a glass case of emotion!!!
Seriously, though, this really stinks for the team, the fans, and most importantly the game itself. The Nationals are a cash cow in the making. They are the Tampa Bay Rays with sex appeal. They were built the same way the Rays were built - but unlike the Rays – the Nationals have flavor. When Stephen Strasburg pitches – we’re watching. When Bryce Harper is swinging the stick – we’re watching. But if the team keeps losing their best players at the rate people dropped during the Black Plague, they aren’t going to win anything.
It’s safe to say the Washington Nationals will not have four starting pitchers with sub-2 ERAs (like they do right now) by the time they get the band together. So it’s also safe to assume that the Washington Nationals will stop winning these 1-run, 2-1 type ballgames they win day in and day out.
Jayson Werth was having a nice bounce back season before this unfortunate injury. His line of .271/.369/.438 is a lot closer to his career averages than last year’s .232/.330/.389. But now, with this injury, who really knows how Werth will produce when he will come back?
Wrist injuries are the most fickle injuries in baseball, especially for someone who has a history of problems with their wrist. The Washington Nationals line-up will resemble a Triple-A line-up until everyone is healthy. And by that time, it might be too late for what should have been one of baseball’s best underdog stories of the season.
