and Ramos was responsible for one run today and one run on opening day because of defensive miscues yet he is still hailed as some sort of future star while Flores who hits and fields better sits

I find this more maddening than the Werth saga

Do explain. I wasn't aware he couldn't be sent down to the minors. Just that he could not be traded.

If a pitch is (a) 9 feet over his head or (b) 11 feet outside, he will take it.....otherwise, there is an overwhelming chance he will either (a) watch it float by or (b) make his patented, futile, powerless lunging swing for a big fat K.....126 mill down the toilet.

.250???? If he breaks .225 it will be a miracle.

Nomah2 asked:
>Do explain. I wasn't aware he couldn't be sent down to the minors. Just that he could not be traded.

If a player has used all three of his option years (which Werth has), he would be exposed to waivers before he could be sent to the minors. That means that all 29 other team would have to pass on taking him on their roster before he could be assigned to AAA.

The Nats would get no compensation for a waiver claim.
The Nats could put him on revocable waivers and if a team claimed Werth, pull him back from waivers and try to negotiate a deal - but how much leverage do you think the Nats would have once they waive Werth and declare him as only AAA material?

So - Werth could be sent to the minors after passing waivers (unless he has 10 years service time, then he could declare free agency), but the likelihood of that scenario is very low.

A player who completely struggles would be more likely to be diagnosed with some ailment and put on the 15 day disabled list and sent for a 30-day rehab assignment in the minors before he "had" to be reinstated to the major league roster.

Or, in your scenario, we could just release him and pay him for watching the games at Hooters.

Glenn

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. I still say we should give him some more time and if he starts off slow we should just bench him for like 10 games. But I doubt ol' davey will do that at any point.

You're saying then that we could put him on waivers, and if he clears, send him to the minors? Are you sure? And the reason not to do that is that another team might claim him? The we'd be out of that contract. Who cares about compensation. Do it!

I am not exactly sure how it works but it isn't that easy. I think if he is claimed we still have to pay him and a waivr claim ifalls under the purview of the no trade clause.

We are married to Mr werth for along long time

If they could get rid of him through waivers that might be increasingly tempting.

He was so close to getting a hit down the 3rd base line yesterday.
I have been frustrated with him, too. But at this point, I'm just waiting and hoping. Like others have said, it's still early. As much as I would like to see it, I don't think the Yankees and Red Sox will finish 0-162.

they can't

I just don't see any change from last season...we heard about his mammoth home run during ST....so what? His stance and overall approach seems the same as last year....which only portends another sputtering collection of 500+ at-bats with little to show for them....while racking up the K's faster than one can keep score....
We've begun to see some positive differences in Espi's approach...fighting off pitches, thus far not golfing on a pitch in the dirt (yea, I know, it's early)....Desmond seems to have revamped his approach as well (though has not acquired much patience!)...
Werth just looks weak at the plate....we also heard rumors about his wrist problem that might have bothered him last season...if so, surely the Nat's docs would be doing MRIs to make sure he didn't have some chronic injury that needs rest....whatever is going on, it certainly does not yet look the least bit promising...

From ESPN:

•Or, if a team is just hoping to dump a player's salary, it can simply allow a team which claimed that player to have him for a small waiver fee. If that happens, the team that gets the player has to pay his entire salary. That's how the Yankees were stuck with Jose Canseco and the Padres were stuck with Randy Myers in recent years: They claimed those players, thinking they were just blocking other teams from getting them. Instead, their old clubs said: "You claimed him. You got him."

Stance and approach? LaRoche appears equally unimpressive at the plate, and look at him. Desmond seems far more patient than he was, letting more counts mature, not lunging like he did before DJ took him aside. And don't discount the Big Mo. If the team starts rolling with Morse back in, no telling what he'll do.

"…I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is much better policy to prophesy after the event has already taken place." -Winston Churchill, 1943

yes, stance and approach...Werth has not changed a thing...nor has his impressive average and number of K's changed either....

I think his St. John the Baptist hair and beard is weighing him down. Time to cut it off and shave it off.

However, I'm willing to be patient. If the trend continues into mid May, then it's time to worry. Or else resign myself to another listless season from Werth.

But, we're not there yet, Nataholics! Keep the faith!

"However, I'm willing to be patient. If the trend continues into mid May, then it's time to worry."

Last year was the time to say that. Following a very good 2010 season, he deserved patience until mid May last year. Now, after a complete year of total futility, I'd say he deserves three weeks at most, and I think many here would find that overly permissive.

"was so close to getting a hit down the 3rd base line yesterday."

And if he had run through first base, instead of sliding, it would have been a hit. If you have a chance look at the replay. It looked to me as though he wasted a full second or more sliding.

Unless you're evading a tag, sliding into first doesn't help you get there faster: maybe some will argue otherwise but it certainly didn't help him yesterday.

I was one of Werth's harshest critics last season. But I'll wait more than 3 weeks to start getting antsy again.

Maybe he's waiting for the Beast to return and show him how to swing the bat?

"if a team is just hoping to dump a player's salary, it can simply allow a team which claimed that player to have him for a small waiver fee. If that happens, the team that gets the player has to pay his entire salary."

That assumes some team claims him and doesn't cover what happens when nobody claims him, and he thus "clears waivers". In Werth's case, it is a near-certainly that nobody will claim him. (Actually I'd go so far as to say "absolute certainty.") In that case, we're still stuck with him, and stuck with his salary. It would mean though that we could send him down.