Phillies Notebook: Werth's woes not the only reason Phillies' offense is laboring

ST. LOUIS - It's human nature to look for simple answers to complex questions, but here's a little something to chew on with your morning granola:

On May 21, against the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park, Jayson Werth went 2-for-4 with a homer, a couple of runs scored and a pair of RBI in a win over the Red Sox. The Phillies' rightfielder was hitting .329 with nine home runs and 33 runs batted in. The Phils were 11 games over .500 at 26-15.

Since then, Werth is.236-4-17 in his 48 games with 55 strikeouts. And the Phillies are 22-29 in that span.

Tempting though it may be, Charlie Manuel isn't ready to draw a straight line connecting Werth's slump with the Phillies' offensive woes, even though Werth is the big righthanded bat in a lineup that leans strongly to the left side.

"When Jayson Werth is hitting, that makes a huge difference in our lineup. That definitely plays a part," the manager said. "If you stop and think, I always talk about our lineup being balanced. We look for balance. And that's why we always wanted that righthanded hitter setting behind [Ryan] Howard. Before, it was [Pat] Burrell.

"With Jayson Werth, when he's walking and has a high on-base percentage, then he's the kind of hitter he's been the last year-and-a-half and, yeah, that sets our lineup up. At the same time, the other guys still have to [produce]. I don't think they're not hitting because he's not. It's just one of those things where our offense has not been consistent."

Manuel noted again that the batting order has been without Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz and, now, Chase Utley for significant portions of the season.

He added that it's easy to see what Werth is doing wrong, but that it can be difficult to correct.

"When the ball's out away from him he's really not hitting good right now. And, also, a lot of times he strides too quick and drops his hands. Usually when you're not hitting the ball, you'll go back and look at the video and you'll find some things that you're doing wrong," Manuel said.

"The other day [in Chicago], he got two hits and he stayed on the ball and he had a couple good at-bats. And he came back [Sunday] and he kind of went back to the old way. Right now, he's having a hard time and we definitely need for him to get going."

And what is the old way?

"He didn't get no hits," the manager said.

As if to confirm that there are no easy explanations, Ryan Howard was named the National League Player of the Week yesterday even though Jayson Werth hasn't been providing his usual protection behind him.

For the abbreviated All-Star week, the Phillies' first baseman was 6-for-15 (.400) with four homers and eight RBI in four games.

"He's patient. He's getting good balls to hit. The only thing Ryan Howard ever does when he's not hitting is that he doesn't follow the ball good," Charlie Manuel said. "He doesn't stay on the ball. He's very dangerous and you never know when you're going to throw one and he's going to stay on it. He's big and strong and if he makes contact he usually hits the ball pretty hard. He's been making more contact [than the last couple years]. His strikeouts are down. Therefore, that means that he's following the ball better and staying on the ball better."

Ryan Howard is the fifth-most marketable player in baseball, according to a survey conducted by SportsBusiness Daily. He trails only Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg.