Jayson Werth

Position: Rightfield Height, weight: 6-5, 212 Age: 30. Birthdate: May 20, 1979 Hometown: Springfield, Ill. Years pro: 7 How acquired: Signed as a free agent by the Phillies on Dec. 18, 2006, after missing entire '06 season because of wrist surgery. This year: Werth set career highs in games (159), at-bats (571), runs (98), hits (153), doubles (26), home runs (36) and RBI (99). Career: When he was drafted in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1997 draft by Baltimore, the 6-5 Werth was a catcher.

JAYSON WERTH, RF Nationals Why him: Obviously needs to be more productive than last season (career-worst .232 batting average), especially with cleanup hitter Michael Morse dealing with a strained muscle in his back. Quote to note: "This is home for me now vs. coming in last year; didn't really know what to expect and didn't really know anybody," Werth said. "Now I feel like this is my team and I am part of the action here. It is going to be a good couple of years.

WASHINGTON - Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his left wrist Sunday night trying to make a sliding catch against the Phillies. "It's a clean break," Washington manager Davey Johnson said after the Nationals' 9-3 loss. "He's going to be out for a while. " Johnson said Werth will see a specialist to evaluate the injury. Werth was injured in the sixth inning. The right fielder's glove got caught underneath him, and he bent his wrist backward trying to grab Placido Polanco's sinking liner.

ORLANDO - Ruben Amaro Jr. left the general managers' meetings Thursday without making any significant news. The off-season process is young, so there's no reason to sound any sirens or file a grievance with the complaints department. "We had some productive discussions with some agents on free agents and with other clubs" about trades, the Phillies' general manager said. Though Amaro never spoke specifically about negotiations with Jayson Werth's agent Scott Boras, he did send another signal that the Phillies are ready to move on without their free-agent rightfielder, even talking about him in the past tense at times.

WHAT'S THE confusion about Jayson Werth leaving the Phillies? Put Mayberry in left, Brown in right, make Ibanez the pinch hitter and platoon Howard against right-handers only. Don't give me that stuff about Mayberry and Brown being rookies - everybody was a rookie once, and until they play every day in the majors, they'll never develop. It's a no-brainer. Joe H. Imlay Bordentown, N.J.

Bernadette Dougherty may be a monster Phillies fan, but she's a mom first. Glued to the television watching last night's Phillies-Rockies clash, Dougherty, 43, of Feasterville had to skip out at the beginning of the sixth inning to pick up her children. It was in that inning Jayson Werth belted the first Daily News Home Run Playoff Payoff homer of the year making Dougherty $1,000 richer. "I was watching the game and had to pick my kids up from CCD and of course the second I leave I miss hearing my name called.

The Phillies have hit, pitched, and played their usual pristine defense to build their longest winning streak since 1991. And in those rare moments when executing all the facets of the game wasn't quite enough, a stroke of fortune here and there made its way into the equation. Case in point: With one out and a runner on first in the top of the ninth inning last night at Citizens Bank Park, Chicago's Aramis Ramirez hit a sizzling grounder destined for a base hit. It brushed off the leg of Brad Lidge just enough to slow it a bit, and Jimmy Rollins turned it into an inning-ending double play.

There are many things in life that are truly difficult — losing a job, raising a child, dealing with Comcast customer service — but disliking the upstart professional baseball team from the nation's capital is not among them. Even so, if the Nats are to become a true rival to the Phillies, we figured it would be helpful to provide a head start on some good clean hate, a handy reference guide of reasons to despise the unbearable lameness of the Nats — and their ardently indifferent fan base.

WASHINGTON Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was penalized by Major League Baseball following his remarks about Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. MLB said Tuesday that Rizzo was disciplined, without providing specifics. In general, penalties for non-uniformed personnel involve a fine. Rizzo was upset that Hamels hit Nationals rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch on Sunday night and then said he deliberately tried to plunk him. Hamels was suspended for five games by MLB on Monday and fined.

The Washington Nationals' hatred for the Phillies is coming in waves. After triggering a lopsided Washington win over the Phillies with a three-run home run Saturday at Nationals Park, outfielder Jayson Werth directed his venom toward his former team's fans Monday because of the way they reacted when he suffered a broken wrist in Sunday night's series finale. "After walking off the field feeling nauseous knowing my wrist was broke and hearing Philly fans yelling, 'You deserve it' and 'That's what you get,' I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again," Werth wrote in an e-mail response to a question from the Washington Post.

WASHINGTON - Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his left wrist Sunday night trying to make a sliding catch against the Phillies. "It's a clean break," Washington manager Davey Johnson said after the Nationals' 9-3 loss. "He's going to be out for a while. " Johnson said Werth will see a specialist to evaluate the injury. Werth was injured in the sixth inning. The right fielder's glove got caught underneath him, and he bent his wrist backward trying to grab Placido Polanco's sinking liner.

WASHINGTON - Sports fans love a phenom. They enjoy the buildup and want to see if the player can match the seemingly unbearable hype. That explains so much interest in Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who is now hitting .261 with no home runs, three RBIs, and a .378 on-base percentage in barely a week as a big-leaguer. Forget the small sample size of statistics. Harper has been in the public consciousness since appearing on the Sports Illustrated cover at the age of 16. Now just 19, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Harper is a player people can't stop watching.

WASHINGTON - Jayson Werth took a few steps up the first-base line and watched the ball fly. He flipped his black bat toward the Nationals dugout as the Vance Worley fastball landed in the Phillies bullpen. In one moment, the bearded outfielder ignited cheers and boos from a divided crowd. The Nationals believe they have carved a new existence in the National League East, an idea they furthered with a 7-1 victory Saturday. Whether true or not, some relics will always remain: When Werth trotted to right field in the first inning, he was booed lustily by visiting Phillies fans.

This is an excerpt by Daily News staff writer David Murphy, from the paper's Phillies blog, www.philly.com/HighCheese . THE EARLY part of the baseball season presents a challenge when it comes to evaluating the performance of a veteran who is on the downslope of his career. When a player is in his prime, an early-season slump is usually just that: a slump, a dry spell, a random dip in production that is destined to even out over the course of a 162-game season. It's why members of the Phillies' clubhouse would get that exasperated look on their faces in 2008 and 2009 when they fielded questions about their slow start.

These days, it does not take long for Ryan Howard to change out of uniform. There is no sweat to scrub off, no tape to unravel, no at-bats to replay in loop after loop. So, as the rest of his teammates began the slow unwind Saturday from a second straight loss to the New York Mets, the injured slugger sat in his street clothes and surveyed the scene. "We'll be all right," said Howard, who flashed a confident smile and then reminded reporters that in 2008 and 2009 it was late April before the Phillies eclipsed .500 for good.

PITTSBURGH - Exhale, Philadelphia. The spring training of achy knees and infected heels, of gritted teeth and wrung hands, is finally behind the Phillies. They traveled across the commonwealth to play a game that counted, No. 1 of 162 on your pocket schedule. They were without the power of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, and their offense was as low-wattage as in your worst fever dream. Freddy Galvis, tasked with replacing Utley at second base, grounded into two inning-ending double plays.