Are these guys for real?
Only a half-game behind Florida in the AL East? Over .500 winning percent
age? Eight guys on the All-Star ballot?
Let’s not get carried away. It’s a long, I mean LONG season. This seven-game homestand, in which the Nats went 4-3, was probably a legit indication of how the season is going to go – up and down.
Still, the hype around Vinny Castilla is deserved. Of the top five players on the roster with at least 48 at-bats, Castilla leads the team with a .375 batting average and he’s driven in 11 RBI. His on-base percentage is .434. Jose Vidro is also on the verge of being the player he was in 2002, when he hit .315 with 19 home runs and 96 RBI.
Both of those guys, along with Cristian Guzman, have made All-Star appearances before. All-Stars, though, don’t usually make game-defining errors in the bottom of the ninth. And other players like Ryan Church are still trying to find their place on the team. Such intangibles will be difference-makers down the road.
Question is, does it matter? Baseball is back.
Dinich's Dugout 
Would you rather that they be called the Senators?
Does it unnerve you a bit that MLB still owns them instead of a “local” group?
How does one become a Nationals fan, particularly one that never knew the Senators?
Optimism, hope, cheerfulness… Still not convinced about the Nationals. Besides a few good players….
Interesting thoughts .. it doesn’t matter what they’re called, because all of the “elderly” people I’ve talked to keep calling them the Senators anyway. No, it’s not unnerving that MLB owns the team instead of locals because I’ve seen them play, and that was the biggest question mark. How does one become a Nats fan? Simply by going to a game. You shouldn’t be convinced yet – they haven’t proven themselves.