Werth Gone, But I Feel Nothing

I've had a couple days to sit and think about how important a loss Jayson Werth will be to the Phillies and their offensively charged lineup, but everytime I try to think about the topic, I suddenly get hungry and move on.

That's not to say Jayson Werth was not important to the Phillies or that he didn't influence our lineup because he did, but in the end him leaving generates an "ehh" from me.

Werth had four productive seasons and three of them were phenomenal in terms of the way he picked up the lineup on occasion, but never would you say that Jayson Werth was the guy. He was one of the guys, a piece of the puzzle, a part of the whole, but he never was THE guy.

Jayson, along with Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and even Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz in recent seasons have made this offense what it is and in clutch situations this team became Ryan Howard's and Chase Utley's ball club, it never became Jayson Werth's.

Yeah, we can all make light of the fact the Washington Nationals massively overpaid for a player who didn't become an everyday starter until 2008 or the fact that sometimes Werth can catch a strikeout bug the likes of which could even make Ryan Howard shake his head in disgust.

But the truth is that Jayson Werth is a good player, but he isn't a franchise changer, he isn't a guy you can put an entire team on when the offense is in a slump, he's a guy you would love to add to an almost completed puzzle, because it is at that point where he shines. He shined as a Phillie, but because the stars were already aligned for him to succeed.

I'm not saying that Werth won't succeed in Washington, but rather the team will not succeed because he does. A great season from Werth could still spell a losing record for the Nationals and more than likely will, but I guess you have to start somewhere if you're a franchise just looking to gain ground in a division dominated in recent years by the Philadelphia Phillies.

It will be very interesting to see Jayson Werth return many times to Citizens Bank Park with the Nationals, but it will be even more intriguing to see the impact he has in D.C.

Can Jayson Werth become a franchise player, a superstar, a hero, and more? Well if he does, it'll be the first time he's ever done it.