The Nationals Report

It's a long season. There will be highs, and there will be lows. When you're the Nationals, you're supposed to have more lows than highs. If you've been watching this homestand, the Nationals are confounding expectations.
You've got a team with unproven pitching, players left for dead on the FA scrap heap weeks before Spring Training opened, and a crew of players that most contending teams wouldn't be interested, with few exceptions.
What you also have is a team with impressive chemistry, and an inspiring attitude. At the risk of sounding like Nats320, this team is something we should be proud of. They aren't the Redskins, spending millions on every available free agent and perennially disappointing their legions of fans. Every game, these Nats give it their all. You don't hear about players complaining about playing time, or having issues with each other. You see a unified front of youthful fun and complete effort. "Problem guys" with other clubs change their stripes here, and become leaders.
This team isn't going to win the division. They won't win the Wild Card. But if they keep this up, they won't be in last place. They won't be the laughing stock of the jokers on Baseball Tonight (this show is in this shitcan since they got rid of HR, but that's another post).
A sweep of the World Series champs is followed up by a road trip to the west coast, and the Barry Bonds show. Will one of our pitchers give up the long ball? Maybe. Does it matter? Not at all. Pitch to Bonds, and get him out. My personal opinion on Bonds appears to be out of the mainstream, but this is great exposure for our team. Go on national TV and play ball the way they've been playing, and make the commentators begrudgingly admit their jump to incorrect conclusions.
We'll keep watching. With the effort this team is putting out, we kind of owe it to them.

0.5 games out of not last place.

As an aside, DC United looks great this afternoon. If anybody who reads this hasn't been to a match, I'd highly recommend it.