Phillies downplay Werth absence
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Phillies downplay Werth absence
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
UPDATE: 6:40 p.m.
Nothing to see here is what all parties say about Jayson Werth's absence from the Phillies line-up the past couple of days. Werth is the only position player from last year's postseason roster that has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game, aside from injured veterans Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz. But manager Charlie Manuel, who has been questioned all day about Werth, emphatically said this evening that his starting right fielder is completely healthy.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with him,” Manuel said. “There is absolutely zero wrong with him. He's been getting some hitting, he's just not ready to go yet. He'll play before the season starts.”
Werth also said he is healthy, as did general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
So, Werth is healthy. Manuel said he'll likely be in the line-up Saturday against Tampa Bay.
“He's just not ready to go,” Manuel said. “He's just not ready to go yet. Swinging, running, everything. That happens a lot. It's no big deal. He's not a whole lot out of shape, just the way he's been going through it.”
There you have it.
Nothing to see.
^
It is only the first time through the rotation, but the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation got off to a sparkling start today as both righthander Carlos Carrasco and lefthander J.A. Happ breezed through their two innings of work, allowing one hit between them while combining to pitch four scoreless innings.
Carrasco was particularly impressive, striking out three of the six batters he faced. His only real hiccup came in the second inning, when Blue Jays right fielder Travis Snider smoked a line drive to deep right field that John Mayberry tracked down and made a leaping stab for the out.
Happ retired his first five batters before allowing a single to left field off the bat of Jose Bautista. He then retired Michael Barrett on a pop fly to center field to finish his inning allottment.
^
A few other updates through four innings:
Jason Ellison, a non-roster invitee who began his career in the Giants organization before moving on to stints with the Mariners and Rangers, led off the third inning with a base hit and eventually scored on a single by Jimmy Rollins.
Jayson Werth has already retired to the clubhouse, meaning he won't play in either of the first three Grapefruit League games. Werth isn't scheduled to make the trip to face the Reds in Sarasota tomorrow. Werth, Ruben Amaro Jr. and Charlie Manuel all said this morning that the right fielder isn't hurt.
"He isn't quite ready to play," Manuel said.
Sounds to me like it pay be a personal issue since manuel was not exactly open about it. I'm sure he'll be ready to go within a week
The rangers got tired of seeing Mayberry whiff at the baseball so much, like we did with Golson, so we swapped prospects. Speed for power basically. Change of scenery deal. If mayberry can somehow learn at his age to make contact, he can be a major league player. If he still strikes out a lot and rarely walks, than it will be a tough road for him.— johnnysanz3
Comment removed.- Can they afford a one and a half month experiment to see if Mayberry can be that righty stick off the bench? I don't think Charlie would be comfortable with that, and I know I'm not. The front office has thrown a LOT of money at this team so far, and if they can get a veteran righty by spending another Million or so, I think they will.— TBear
- Apparently the management saw something they liked with Ibanez last year hitting against other lefties. Moving to Philly should definately help his power numbers in the long run, but look for him to be replaced by Bruntlett in the field in later innings. Who knows, this Mayberry guy, if he has a strong spring could steal a roster spot just because of his raw power potential and his right-handedness.— ESFjellin
- Werth update on Zo's blog, all is well. Although I agree that not being in shape is pretty weak.— jimmymack
- Burrel is gone. Get over it. Time to move on. Ibanez is an upgrade over Burrel...................— MB2009
- I don't care if we win or lose,, but if we give up a lot of runs and don't score many that usually means our pitchers and hitters are both under-performing,,, so maybe winning is a good thing,, just one person's logic. And I think Burrell is a huge loss, he's a Philly, having real Phillies is what it took to win, not a BA statistic.— clevland
- relax everyone. Spring training is longer this year than it ever has been. I'd prefer that none of the core guys on the team play more than an inning or 2 for the next 2 weeks.— chestercountyvoter
- Night life ??— mick314
- No. They are testing out pitchers. Carrasco and Happ did just fine today. I also am interested in John Mayberry. He could be the right handed hitter and play himself into a position. He seems to have good power and he is 25 years old and should be ready to shine. We'll see. It should be an interesting spring on that front.— Horlet
- The story on Ibanez is production and in the last few years he has produced runs for some bad squads. He's a slightly more consistency version of Pat The Bat. In Philly, surrounded by talent and with lot's of men on base he should thrive for a few years. But Mayberry does sound like a player we'll soon be hearing about.— Barton
- Mayberry has gotten out of the gate breaking from the pack as the answer to the righthanded bat off the bench. Last year at AAA he hit .350 with 8 homers in 100 at bats against lefties. He can run a little too stealing 6 bags in 8 attempts last year. Today he smacked a double off of lefty Fabio Castro.— Dull
- Tired from carrying his fat wallet around!— Irish Frank
- AC Baughman, they wouldn't have had the option to pay Burrell as little as they will pay Ibanez. They only could have retained him by offering arbitration and Burrell and his agent would know they could at least hold steady if not get a raise through arbitration. So if the Phillies were to keep Burrell, it would have been for $14+ million.— jtj06
