Jayson Werth avoids press conference

[varoadking]

Feinstein is a great writer, well-researched.  I'm waiting for his commercial snippets on the radio to end with "not a sermon, just a thought."

Korny wiser is a blowhard who could benefit from learning the meaning of hyperbole.

Also he lost a lot of credibility recently calling the Nats the new Caps.

He read that here first...

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Also he lost a lot of credibility recently calling the Nats the new Caps.

the only smart thing he's ever said, really

[Ray D]

the only smart thing he's ever said, really

No, he used to call Oriole fans "baltimorons".

[The Chief]

I'm pretty much in the "BFD" camp.  What's Werth going to say?  "Sorry I sucked and we choked"?  Everybody knows that.  Only thing I want to hear coming out of anyone's mouth is an apology to the pitchers.

[PebbleBall]

Also he lost a lot of credibility recently calling the Nats the new Caps.

I know! The Caps have won a postseason series.

[Lintyfresh85]

houston I'm shocked you haven't read Feinstein. His books would seem to be right up your alley.

Having said that... his commentary is just a reflection on what others have been saying... he was just waiting for a chance to pile on.

Werth is an jerk no doubt... but being an jerk yourself doesn't help anything, John.

[spidernat]

I can't believe that idiot Kornheiser was ever on MNF. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I think Werth is getting a bit too much grief over his performance in the NLDS.  It's pretty simple to just say 1 for whatever and say he stunk, but that misses many things, like the walks, pitches seen, and of course the quality of the contact.  My memory is of him hittiing a lot of balls deep, not striking out a ridiculous amount of times, and just running into well positioned defense and some nice plays.

Here's a recap of each PA (with links):
Game 1 - Walk, K, walk, fly to 2d.
Game 2 - K, Fly to CF, Grounder to SS (runner advances), Fly to right, Fliner to CF, single to left (Fliner), K, Finer to right (ends game)
Game 3 - K, grounder to 2d, Fliner to CF, K
Game 4 - BB, foul to catcher, Fliner to right, Fly to first.

So, 3 walks and 5 Ks, 2 grounders, 3 flies hit to infielders and catcher, 7 balls in air to the OF (of which one dropped for a single).  No liners (I forget whether the single was a liner) but several balls judged between a fly and a liner. Several warning track balls too, from my memory. Seems with him, it was more a case of contact not falling in than bad PAs.  It's not good, but my thought as the series went along was that his PAs were mostly better than Span, LaRoche, Desmond, and Ramos, and that he was not reacting to the spot light by not trying to do what was effective for him during the year.

[comish4lif]

I generally don't care whether a player talks to the press or not during the season - what can a player say today that is markedly different than the other 161 days?

But that was the playoffs. And Werth is one of your stars and was brought here to be a leader with his post season experience.

I think you need to here from Williams first, then Werth.

[PC]

One of the problems might have been his deep counts.  He was letting hittable pitches go and he, along with the rest of the non-hitting bunch appeared to be trying to hit the ball deep every time, as opposed to simple contact.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

One of the problems might have been his deep counts.  He was letting hittable pitches go and he, along with the rest of the non-hitting bunch appeared to be trying to hit the ball deep every time, as opposed to simple contact.

PC -but how was that different from the normal way Jayson Werth approached hitting all year?  how is that an indication of gagging under the pressure?  25% K rate in 20 PAs is basically one extra K over his 18% rate during the year, and the 3 BBs are what you'd expect from a guy with a 13% BB% during the year.  he was a more prone to balls in the air in the series (normally 60% air / 40% ground, here 10 air / 2 ground), but it is sort of a normal variation in a small sample.  I would have liked more, but I don't think he went away from his normal approach.  not taking counts deep would have been more of an example of deviating from what made him a successful hitter during the year.

We aren't even having this conversation if two of those flies drop.

[spidernat]

freak all that crap. It's all about results and Werth didn't produce. You can put all the lipstick you want on that pig. It's a still a pig.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

One of the problems might have been his deep counts.  He was letting hittable pitches go and he, along with the rest of the non-hitting bunch appeared to be trying to hit the ball deep every time, as opposed to simple contact.

He's patient but not always selective.  I'm of the opinion that despite taking a lot of pitches, he actually doesn't have that great of a batting eye, which is why he lets a lot of meat pitches go.  He just has an approach where he's going to be taking a lot of pitches and work counts.

[Monarch]

Oh! John Feinstein is the guy who wrote Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball.

That was on my wish list, but now I'm reconsidering.

I read it and enjoyed it. some of it is kind of depressing really. esp parts about guys that are trying to hang on, b/c they're afraid of life out of baseball.

[HalfSmokes]

I read it and enjoyed it. some of it is kind of depressing really. esp parts about guys that are trying to hang on, b/c they're afraid of life out of baseball.

everytime I want to call some random call up or journeyman a bum, I think about that book

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Wasn't John Lannan one of the minor leaguers profiled in that book? 

[whytev]

Neither can I.  It was one of the stupidest comments I have ever heard from an athlete.

Wait I must have missed that one...

[HalfSmokes]

Wasn't John Lannan one of the minor leaguers profiled in that book? 

lannan, but not much, McClouth was the most prominent Nat

[Baseball is Life]

Not a big deal for me, but Werth prides himself on a being a true professional and a role model for the younger players. The professional thing to do would have been to do the media thing and face the music.

[Ray D]

Werth provides himself

Prides himself?

[Baseball is Life]

Prides himself?

Yes, damn auto correct.

[TigerFan]

Wait I must have missed that one...

I believe he said that hitting is the hardest thing to do in the world. 

[shoeshineboy]

I believe he said it was the hardest thing to do in the galaxy. Also made the logically challenged leap that because it was the hardest thing he could learn to do things like complex math but that geniuses in math could not in turn learn to hit. Werth has a very dry sense of humor and the comment should be chalked up as Bill Spaceman Lee type eccentric remark not to be taken seriously. To a pathetic clown like Kornheiser who fancies himself to be a Woody Allen, but is more like a bitter little man with questionable talent, he felt the need to go on a senseless diatribe.

[whytev]

I believe he said it was the hardest thing to do in the galaxy. Also made the logically challenged leap that because it was the hardest thing he could learn to do things like complex math but that geniuses in math could not in turn learn to hit. Werth has a very dry sense of humor and the comment should be chalked up as Bill Spaceman Lee type eccentric remark not to be taken seriously. To a pathetic clown like Kornheiser who fancies himself to be a Woody Allen, but is more like a bitter little man with questionable talent, he felt the need to go on a senseless diatribe.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Non-issue for me. Plenty of writers have said similar things.

[spidernat]

I believe he said it was the hardest thing to do in the galaxy. Also made the logically challenged leap that because it was the hardest thing he could learn to do things like complex math but that geniuses in math could not in turn learn to hit. Werth has a very dry sense of humor and the comment should be chalked up as Bill Spaceman Lee type eccentric remark not to be taken seriously. To a pathetic clown like Kornheiser who fancies himself to be a Woody Allen, but is more like a bitter little man with questionable talent, he felt the need to go on a senseless diatribe.

  I missed that. As far as Kornheiser, I bet his humor would've been considered funny in 1953.