Werth

Jayson Werth should be a folk hero in this town by now. Instead, he's a footnote. He's the Phillies player nobody has been able to get out in this postseason. Last night, Yankees starter Andy Pettitte couldn't even keep him in the yard. Instead, Werth's big night was rendered meaningless, although he became the fourth Phillies player to hit two home runs in a World Series game. He's the first to do it in a loss. His name didn't even come up during manager Charlie Manuel's postgame news conference.

As expected, the Phillies extended an arbitration offer to rightfielder Jayson Werth, and in doing so maintained their right to receive compensation in the form of draft picks should the Type A free agent sign elsewhere. The Phillies elected not to offer arbitration to Type B free agent Chad Durbin, meaning they will not receive a supplemental draft pick if he signs elsewhere. Werth has until Nov. 30 to decline arbitration, which seems to be a formality. If he were to accept, he would play for the Phillies in 2011 under a 1-year contract at a salary determined by a panel of arbitrators.

Jayson Werth rejected salary arbitration before Tuesday's midnight deadline and Jamie Moyer had successful surgery on his left elbow Wednesday. In a move that surprised no one, Werth declined the Phillies' arbitration offer, which means the team will receive two high draft picks if the veteran rightfielder signs elsewhere. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has declined to comment about negotiations with Werth's agent, Scott Boras, and the agent has not returned numerous phone calls from The Inquirer.

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.

If forced to select one word as the theme for his 2009 season, Jayson Werth might choose finally. As in, he finally played a full season without a detour to the disabled list. He finally produced statistics worthy of the expectations he placed on himself, and he finally found the perfect time, place, and team for his talent to blossom. And now he must decide whether he wants to stay. The Phillies rightfielder arrived at spring training yesterday with long hair and a thick beard, entering the final season of a two-year, $10 million contract.

Jayson Werth hadn't even had time to get cool yet. The Phillies' perpetually hip rightfielder, who's got bop in his strut and pop in his bat, shook himself the way a wet dog does as he entered the batter's box with two outs in last night's first inning. For Werth, trying to get into the groove he'd occupied throughout most of the 2009 season and now into October, it was a wake-up gesture. He almost certainly hadn't been expecting to bat until the second inning. But after Vicente Padilla got the first two Phillies in the first, the erratic Dodgers starter walked Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in rapid succession.

For the third time in 11 games, Charlie Manuel did not insert Jayson Werth into his starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against Florida. The Phillies rightfielder is mired in a slump - much like most of his teammates - but Manuel sees it differently with Werth. Werth needs to get off his feet and clear his mind, Manuel said. "He's definitely trying too hard," Manuel said. Part of it, Manuel admitted, could be because of Werth's contract situation. He expects a major payday at the end of this season, when his deal with the Phillies expires.

It wasn't the kind of debut Jayson Werth expected. His Washington Nationals opened their season by getting shut out by 37-year-old Derek Lowe and the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, with soon-to-be-39-year-old Chipper Jones scoring the deciding run in front of a non-sellout Nationals Park crowd. Werth, batting second, singled in his first at-bat, struck out in the third inning, and grounded out to shortstop in the sixth and eighth innings to finish 1-for-4. The spotlight yesterday was expected to be on the former Phillie, who signed a 7-year, $126 million contract to play in Washington.