Paul Hagen: Pending free agency isn't hurting Werth's play for Phillies down the stretch

THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS gathered for spring training in 1992 with a dozen players eligible to become free agents at the end of the season and no plans to do anything to pare down that list even though it included stalwarts such as Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley and Mark McGwire.

Then-general manager Sandy Alderson was asked at the time if he was counting on the notion that playing with their next contract on the line would lead to big seasons. "That's the conventional wisdom," he said. "On the other hand, some players seem to go the other way when they don't have their security in place. We're prepared to find out."

The Phillies went into this season prepared to find out about Jayson Werth, the only member of their projected starting lineup who is unsigned beyond this season.

The results have been mixed. Werth got off to a torrid start, then slipped into an extended slump that included a couple of brain cramps in the field and on the bases.

Lately, though, when it matters most, he has been one of the Phillies' hotter hitters. He also let it be known this week that he has switched agents and is now represented by Scott Boras, who has a well-earned reputation for getting top dollar for his clients.

Werth has been doing his part to help Boras' bargaining position. His three-run homer in the third inning last night jump-started a 5-3 win over the Braves at The Bank that increased the Phillies' lead over second-place Atlanta to five games with just 10 to play. The magic number to capture a fourth straight division title stands at six.

The Phillies have won nine straight. In those games, Werth is 12-for-36 (.333) with five homers, 11 runs scored and 13 RBI.

The fact that there have been only minimal discussions about an extension during the season, that Werth didn't even offer the standard staying-here-would-be-my-first-choice cliche that is a standard part of Free Agency 101 when discussing his situation earlier this week and that the Phillies would likely have to increase their payroll significantly to accommodate him only adds to the growing impression that he'll be elsewhere next season.

If you're a betting person, that's the play.

This isn't the time to focus on that, though. Not with the Phillies playing their best baseball of the season, with a chance at a third straight trip to the World Series and a second world championship in 3 years coming into sharper focus every day.

So it was nice that speculation about what might happen 15 days after the World Series ends wasn't part of the postgame discussion last night. And if the rest of the universe is shocked that this team has won 21 out of 25 since being beaten four straight by the Astros at home, Werth isn't.

"This is the kind of ball we've been accustomed to playing [down the stretch] the last few years," he said. "I think that's us. I think that's how we should play. That's how we're supposed to play. We've got a bunch of guys who rise to the occasion.

"Make no mistake about it. We feel like we're the best team in baseball and now we're going to go out and try to prove it."

Still, on a night when the Eagles made the stunning announcement that all those assurances about Kevin Kolb still being their starting quarterback are now null and void, effective immediately, it's almost impossible not to contrast the situations of two high-profile professional athletes who work across the street from each other in South Philadelphia.

The common thread is that Werth and Michael Vick have each benefited from being given a second chance and have the opportunity to cash in at the end of this season when they become free agents.

The conclusion many will jump to is that both should be so indebted to their employers, that it would be greedy and irresponsible not to come back out of sheer gratitude.

Which couldn't be more wrong.

When the Eagles signed Vick, he was radioactive. They stuck their necks out for him in a way few professional sports organizations have done. That's got to count for something, even if he ends up taking them to the Super Bowl.

Werth was signed by the Phillies for $850,000 before the 2007 season after an injury caused him to miss the entire previous season with the Dodgers. It was a low-risk gamble and, if the Phillies hadn't taken it, someone else would have. Then he produced enough to earn more playing time, which resulted in a 2-year, $10 million contract before the 2009 season. And he has outperformed that.

If he leaves, it will be a blow. The Phillies will have to find a big righthanded bat somewhere to help protect all the lefthanded hitters in the lineup. And you don't just pick one of those off the shelf at Modell's.

But that's the way it goes. He has earned the right to test the market and if there's a better deal out there for him, no one should begrudge him. Of course, the Phillies are hoping that if that happens, he will help them win another trophy before he departs.

And, by the way: The '92 A's won the division with 96 wins.

Send e-mail to hagenp@phillynews.com.