Jayson Werth goes soft

Jayson Werth has traded in headbangers in leather for pulsating keyboards and sleeveless T-shirts. We noticed that he switched his intro music from Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal to Journey's Separate Ways when we attended our first game of the year on Saturday.

It took us a minute to identify the new song. Actually, I had no shot, but it came to Christine in dribs. She pictured the video - Steve Perry in a sleeveless shirt, something like a dockyard and the woman walking. The music played in her head, and then she finally remembered the lyrics. She told me to write down Separate Ways to check when we got home. She was right.

I don't know whether Werth is a huge Journey fan or whether he's going through some marital trouble. I will assume it's the former and have taken the liberty to check the band's tour dates to see when J-Dub can check them out this summer. I saw two possibilities: Aug. 31 in Uniondale, N.Y. (the Phillies are off in between games at New York and Pittsburgh) and Sept. 13 in Wallingford, Ct. (the Phillies play the Mets at home in the afternoon, but are off the following day before hosting the Nationals).

Unfortunately, the Phillies are in Houston when Journey plays in Atlantic City, and they have a night game when the band plays in Reading.

If the schedule doesn't work out, Werth always can always hit YouTube, where unfortunately all the Separate Ways videos don't have embeddable links.

Tonight: Rain pushed the Red Sox game in New York to 9:30; they're up 1-0 in the 1st. The central time zone pushed the Phillies back to 8 p.m.; they're up 6-1 in the 5th.

Christine was watching Ryan Howard bat with the bases loaded in the top of the 5th.

"Is he going to do it?" I said.

"I don't know," Christine said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Uh-oh," I said when Howard made contact, which is my pre-home run call, good or bad.

Then, the camera pans to Howard's dad and a woman in the stands cheering the grand slam.

"I bet that's Jayson Werth's mom," Christine said.

Tom McCarthy confirmed it was shortly after.

[Image: Austin Chronicle]