Phils outfielder Jayson Werth seems to cycle through three phases. In the first, he comes off like your fairly run-of-the-mill platoon-type outfielder: decent power, good patience, some speed, decent glove. Offensively he's good for about .260/.360/.460, much better against lefties than righties. In the second phase, sadly the rarest of the three, he undergoes a Mecha-Streisand like conversion and emerges as SuperWerth, an offensive monster with the strike zone judgment of Pat Burrell, the plate coverage of Vlad Guerrero and the on-base derring-do of Jackie Robinson. SuperWerth appeared twice in 2007, going 9 for 9 over a two-game stretch and stealing two bases against Billy Wagner and the Mets in perhaps the best victory of a memorable season, and once in 2008, bashing three home runs against the Blue Jays in a blowout win.
Werth's third phase, one that claimed most of his time in 2005-2006, is the one where he's on the disabled list. As of this morning, the transformation took--though at least we've got this humorous juxtaposition to ease the pain:
Werth suffered the injury swinging at a 2-1 pitch in the eighth inning Thursday. "I'm feeling better," he said last night. "I'm feeling a lot better, actually." "He can't swing the bat or throw," Manuel said.
The Phillies placed Werth on the disabled list after last night's game. He has a strained right abdominal muscle.
T.J. Bohn will replace Werth on the active roster.