Jayson Werth

TORONTO - A little story for those wondering about the trade deadline, which is 42 days away: Two years ago, Jayson Werth dressed before a Phillies game in St. Louis and jokingly asked a reporter, "Where am I going now?" Those Phillies were seven games back with a week until the deadline and rumors of Werth's departure intensified. He was to be a free agent after the season, and while the Phillies wavered between buying and selling, the outfielder was shopped. Then the Phillies won eight in a row, acquired Roy Oswalt, and played in October.

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.