Werth

Quick, name the most productive hitter in the Phillies' postseason history? No, not Mike Schmidt. No, not Ryan Howard or Chase Utley, either. It's Jayson Werth. No player in the 128-year history of the franchise has generated more homers, extra-base hits, and total bases in the most important games than the rangy, goateed outfielder. But the big question Sunday isn't whether Werth will ever add to his Phillies playoff totals of 11 home runs, 21 extra-base hits, and 82 total bases.

Suddenly, all has seemed to right itself in Phillie-land: Jimmy Rollins is once again the offensive sparkplug of your local nine. The defending world champions just finished feasting - at home, no less - on the New York Metropolitans. And Jayson Werth continues to chisel away at the Daily News' promotional budget. Werth's leadoff home run in the third inning of the Phillies' 7-2 victory over the Mets on Friday night won $1,000 in the Home Run Payoff Contest for Percy Brown, of South Philadelphia.

Excerpts from Monday's Ask Gonzo chat on Philly.com with columnist John Gonzalez: Comment From Vicks PO:  [Will] Michael [Vick] fare well against the Cowboys [on Sunday]? Gonzo: He fares well against pretty much everyone, doesn't he? Joe Theismann said he doesn't think Vick is the MVP. He likes Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers a little bit better for the award. Manning and Rivers both lost on Sunday. Theismann might want to reconsider his position. Comment From Chris: Saw Rasheed Wallace on South Street Saturday night.

IT COULD HARDLY be set up better. The Phillies have won seven in a row. They won yesterday's game over the visiting Nationals, 7-6, with a four-run rally in the ninth, finished with a walkoff, two-run homer from their crucial righthanded bat. So, the second-place Braves enter the Bank tonight three games behind instead of two, which means they cannot overtake the Phillies in the NL East with a sweep of the series. While the Phillies rallied, the Braves were in the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field in New York, where they had just completed a sweep of the Mets.

THIS IS NOT Jayson Werth's fault. It is entirely reasonable to expect that he will unfunk himself pretty soon and hit about .280 the rest of the way with reasonable power numbers from the right side. Even 24 hours ago, it made sense just to wait this thing out, this Great Phillies Malaise of 2010, and allow the law of averages to do its powerful work - on Werth, on all of them. No longer, though - not since Jamie Moyer grabbed his elbow in the first inning on Tuesday night in St. Louis.

MIAMI - Sometime around the seventh inning last night, the disembodied loudspeaker voice in the press box at Sun Life Stadium made a startling allegation. Somewhere, perhaps buried beneath the orange blanket of empty seats that circles the field, there were 20,616 people who paid actual currency to watch the Phillies defeat the hometown Marlins, 11-4, and maintain their one-game lead in the National League East. To the naked eye, there were barely enough witnesses to get the game notarized.

ALLENTOWN - A year ago, John Mayberry got the ultimate news for a minor-league baseball player: "Son, you're going to the show. " And what a show he put on May 23, 2009, at Yankee Stadium. The Phillies outfielder went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. His first major-league hit was a three-run home run off lefthander Andy Pettitte, a possible future Hall of Famer. Two innings later, he doubled off Pettitte. The son of a former major-leaguer by the same name made it look so easy that afternoon in front of a national television audience.

WITH a mixture of hope and fear, Broad Street Billy walked into Chickie's and Pete's on Packer Avenue near the sports complex, took a deep breath of the beer-marinated air, and felt that the joint was electric with high hopes. And when Brad Lidge got the final strikeout of the Phils' 4-2 win over the Giants in Game 5 of the NLCS last night, the jam-packed bar exploded into a red sea of dancing, screaming, heartfelt joy. "I've got no more voice," said Joe Weber of Merion Station, "but I just want to say, players with heart never give up. Anyone who questioned the heart of this team never played ball.

Ryan Howard loves to hit in September, and the Phillies love that he loves to hit in September. "Why even question it?" Howard said after he hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning last night in an 8-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field to move the Phillies into first place in the National League East. "I don't know why it's a good month for me. Maybe it's the races heating up. " The races are heating up, and Howard is turning up the heat on the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers.

After the Phillies lost, 7-5, to the Milwaukee Brewers last night, Charlie Manuel stood in a corner of the visitors' clubhouse at Miller Park, speaking softly to five of his players. "I know some say it's in the bag," the manager told them. "We ain't got a thing yet. " Paul Bako sat at his locker, looking up while sipping a beverage. Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey were next to him at a round wooden table. Tyler Walker, who allowed a walk-off home run to Ryan Braun in the ninth, was also there.

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals signed former Phillie Jayson Werth to show them how to win. His game-ending homer on Thursday extended their surprising season. Werth led off the bottom of the ninth inning by driving Lance Lynn's 13th pitch into the left-field stands to give the Nationals a 2-1 victory over the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and force a Game 5 in their NL division series. As he circled the bases, Werth raised his right index finger in a "No. 1" gesture, while the announced crowd of 44,392 roared with delight.

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday night, Jayson Werth watched as his old Phillies teammate and friend Raul Ibanez hit a ninth-inning, game-tying home run, then a walkoff home run, to lead the Yankees over the Orioles. "Baseball this time of year is the best time in sports," Werth said. "I watched all the games. I probably texted him 20 times. " Thursday night, it was Ibanez' turn to congratulate Werth, whose leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth gave the Nationals a 2-1 win over St. Louis and forced a decisive Game 5 Friday night in their National League Division Series.

WASHINGTON - Funny thing, this life nowadays. You can tweet it or text it, post it or blog it, phone it in from wherever you are. Yet there are still some occasions when all you need is a nod. On Monday night, the stadium was still buzzing when Jayson Werth dropped to a knee on the steps of the dugout and looked across the field. News of the Braves' loss in Pittsburgh had already filtered through the field of play, meaning the Nationals would be division champs regardless of what happened in the bottom of the ninth of their soon-to-be 2-0 loss to the Phillies.

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals were in the midst of their peculiar dugout celebration Monday night when Jayson Werth made eye contact with the opposing manager. So much was racing through Werth's mind at that moment. The Phillies team he left after the 2010 season, the team that had dominated the National League East for half a decade and won a World Series in 2008, was forced to watch Werth and the once-lowly Nationals celebrate a division title after the Atlanta Braves' loss in Pittsburgh.

BRYCE HARPER hit his third home run in two games, Jayson Werth homered for the first time since May, and Edwin Jackson struck out 10 Thursday night as the Washington Nationals padded their NL East lead with an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals opened an 11-game homestand with an overwhelming performance against a wild-card contender that failed to score an earned run for the third straight game. Jackson (8-9) have up four hits over eight innings. The victory moved the Nationals 5 1/2 games ahead of idle Atlanta.

WASHINGTON - It was Tuesday, and Jayson Werth was still two days away from returning to his first-place Washington Nationals, but the bearded outfielder grinned. He hugged Ryan Howard. He nodded at Carlos Ruiz. He joked with Kyle Kendrick. Lambasted in Philadelphia for taking $126 million from a hapless organization, Werth's team is now the one to beat. The results, a 3-0 Nationals win Thursday being the latest, mean less to the Phillies. The nation's capitol is primed for a pennant race for the first time since 1945.

The Washington Nationals' hatred for the Phillies is coming in waves. After triggering a lopsided Washington win over the Phillies with a three-run home run Saturday at Nationals Park, outfielder Jayson Werth directed his venom toward his former team's fans Monday because of the way they reacted when he suffered a broken wrist in Sunday night's series finale. "After walking off the field feeling nauseous knowing my wrist was broke and hearing Philly fans yelling, 'You deserve it' and 'That's what you get,' I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again," Werth wrote in an e-mail response to a question from the Washington Post.

WASHINGTON - Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his left wrist Sunday night trying to make a sliding catch against the Phillies. "It's a clean break," Washington manager Davey Johnson said after the Nationals' 9-3 loss. "He's going to be out for a while. " Johnson said Werth will see a specialist to evaluate the injury. Werth was injured in the sixth inning. The right fielder's glove got caught underneath him, and he bent his wrist backward trying to grab Placido Polanco's sinking liner.

JAYSON WERTH, RF Nationals Why him: Obviously needs to be more productive than last season (career-worst .232 batting average), especially with cleanup hitter Michael Morse dealing with a strained muscle in his back. Quote to note: "This is home for me now vs. coming in last year; didn't really know what to expect and didn't really know anybody," Werth said. "Now I feel like this is my team and I am part of the action here. It is going to be a good couple of years.

The Phillies have two more days of exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents, and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. made it clear Monday that he would prefer to strike deals with shortstop Jimmy Rollins and closer Ryan Madson before they hit the open market. "We'd love to keep them off the market if we can do it," Amaro said. "We've had discussions with the agents of both players. " That, of course, does not mean the Phillies are close to signing either player, but it shows that the team very much wants to retain its shortstop and closer, at the right price.