Paul Hagen: Werth on Phillies, Lee: 'They could have had us both'

VIERA, Fla. - Four months removed from his last Phillies at-bat, 150 miles from the pristine white sand beaches and tantalizing restaurants that make Clearwater such a pleasant spring-training encampment, Jayson Werth spent the first day of the rest of his baseball life in a Washington Nationals uniform at the Space Coast Stadium complex.

And it didn't take long for him to be reminded how much has changed, and not just because the 7-year, $126 million contract he signed means he pretty much never has to ask how much things costs.

"Tough to go from first to last place in the division?" was the second, smirking question he was asked yesterday after the Nats' first official full squad workout.

And that's the bottom line, isn't it? Sure, money is great. But it can come with a different kind of price tag. In this case, the most obvious tradeoff is a huge stack of cash for a chance to win and play for sellout crowds every night.

Coincidentally, the introductory news conferences for Werth in Washington and Cliff Lee in Philadelphia occurred hours apart on the same December day. Shortly after that, a hilarious cartoon began circulating on the Internet, an x-rated imagining of a meeting between the former teammates. A sanitized sample:

Lee character, in a tinny robotic voice: Anyway, I have some good news . . . I am going back to Philadelphia.

Werth character: Holy [cow].

Lee: Too bad you signed with one of the [worst] teams in baseball. But it could have been worse. You could have signed with the Pirates or the Mets.

Werth: You are right. But Ruben Amaro Jr. told me they had no money. How can the Phillies afford this? . . . I should have accepted arbitration. How the [heck] did I sign with the Nationals? . . . I was so [confused]. I thought the Nationals just wanted my autograph.

Funny stuff. But it swings and misses on two counts.

First, get real. From all indications, the Nationals deal overwhelmed all other offers, including the one from the Phillies. No matter what happens, this couldn't have been a bad decision. Because under the circumstances there was no other choice he could have made. It was, literally, an offer he couldn't refuse.