Werth: Phillies could have had me and Lee
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Werth: Phillies could have had me and Lee
Paul Hagen
Jayson Werth arrived at Nationals spring training today and reflected on his time with the Phillies and the way it ended:
(Hard feelings all those guys got extended and you didn’t?)
“Hard feelings? No. It’s a business. It really is. Baseball is the same game I’ve been playing since I’ve been a kid. But when it comes to the business side of it, it really is dollars and cents. And the team has more to do on that end than anybody else.”
(Made a comment that they could do whatever they want. Really believe they could have afforded to keep you and sign Cliff Lee?)
“I think if they would have played it right they would have had us both. I mean, they traded Cliff away for prospects and then realized that was probably not what they should have done.
“They ended up paying him a lot more than they would have if they’d signed him the year before. Then we would have had him. Chances are if they had signed him before they traded him, it probably would have made it a little easier to sign me.”
(Shocked when they signed Lee?)
“Not really. I had an inside edge.”
“I kind of knew it was always a possibility and I kind of felt it was going to be one or the other. At that point. When it wasn’t me, and what they were talking to me about in terms of years, it kind of made it seem like they were playing us off against each other a little bit.
“That’s the name of the game. That’s the business of it. You miss on one, you get on the other. That’s how they played it. Unfortunately I think if they’d played it right, they probably could have had us both.”
(Did you think about what Aaron Rowand went through when he signed with a last place team and then ended up with another ring?)
“Now he’s got another ring. The thing about this team that was interesting to me was the owners and where they were coming from and what they were trying to do. It’s an interesting group. Ted Lerner is an interesting guy. He’s not like any other owner in baseball,, I don’t think. It’s a one family ownership, so the situation here is different than what it would be anywhere else.
“After they assured me that they were going to take the right steps to continue to add to the young core group of players they had and were throwing around the number of years they were throwing around, the more I stepped back and took a look at this team and where I thought it was going in the future and what could be done here and the type of situation I’d be in, it was actually the type of situation I wanted to be in. Getting in on the ground floor and building it to the top. That kind of turned me on in a sense.”
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I think cliff lee= more wins than werth for our team and will be remembered overall more than werth but werth is and was great. 2007 was the year we first won the division and thats the year he came to our team and that year marked their greatness. you watch that final stretch of 2007 and u could tell he would be something special. i remember when he stole 2 consecutive bases on 2 consecutive pitches against the mets late august 2007 when we were down a couple runs in the 9th and the crowd just went wild. thats when jayson werth became that dude to me (this followed his 8/8 streak). without these steals the phils dont come back to win the game and win the division. Phillies would have had no shot after that and give up the division. I never watched baseball before 2007 i started watching the 2nd half when we had no shot. Jayson Werth mightve made me a phillies fan for life that day.— DaFightins- I'm willing to give him a wide berth as he goes through his grieving process. He's the Phillies all-time leader in postseason home runs, and he brought us a lot of happiness. I'm sad he's no longer here, but permanence does not exist.— andrewfrombrooklyn
Comment removed.- Frankly, it is difficult to imagine what anyone in the RAJ/JW thing proposed or actually wanted. If JW had wanted to stay, I suspect HE would have spelt it out and would still be here. I suspect it is a bit more on RAJ he is gone, but no worry by me about it any more. Don't know why the columnists keep racking things over again, except they are unable to think of worthwhile things to write. Perhaps the column's name should have been changed for this one. HEAD CHEESE would seem more appropriate.— BEMiller
I don't have a problem with what Jayson said. He was asked leading questions which he answered honestly even if he was a little off the mark. No harm done.— KINGOFZED- maybe we didn't want you, think about it?— sgamble077
- i'll say it, i'm glad he's gone. daydreaming at second base and getting picked off, unexcusable. dude didn't hit after the 5th inning! good bye and good ridence!— sgamble077
- Werth is right about 2 things... its a business. He chose to grab the huge contract, that honestly? hes not worth. Had he been willing to negotiate, he would still be here.
Why cant he just enjoy the fact that both sides made out on this deal? He got a contract that no one else wouldve given him and we got Lee. Talk about regret ? wait till the Nats find out hes not Bonds.— inkd0874 - Werth needs to zip it. He's a solid player that overcame injuries and now has a $120M contract. There's also no realistic scenario in which both Werth and Lee would have been signed. The $120M contract totally takes the Phils off the hook.— Steve Jeltz
- The Nats will be no joke in 2-3 years. They'll have Werth, Harper and Zimmerman in the middle of their line up and Stratesburg and Hernandez 1-2, plus they always seem to have a lot of good young athletes. I look at them over paying for Werth the same way the Phils over paid ofr Thome when they had a bunch of young guys like Rollins, Utely and Hammels. Nats wont stay in last place for long. Go Phils— BentLogic
- What's the problem? He was asked some questions and he gave answers to them. Maybe he's right; maybe not. He's not in Philly so let's move on.— OBLawyer
- bye bye Jason wish you would have stayed but you didn't so good luck with the nats...— seeker58
Tough one Jayson. You got paid so get over it.— shawnmac- Wow ! looking at what you people are saying here reminds me of why i left phila. yrs ago . You are so negative , critcal , and mean-spirited . all these unfounded hateful things you are saying about a man who put it all out there amazes me . but it shouldn't, afterall you booed schmidt . instead of showing appreciation for what all he did for your city , you disrespect him for making a move he was basically forced to make . once again you've proven that philadelphians have a unique talent for sinking to the bottom of the cesspool . whenever anyone of you accomplish in your field of exper. then maybe you'll have credibilitytise what werth has in his , let us know .— ComfrtblyNumB
