In 205 days, three of the area's four teams in the major professional sports leagues won division titles. It's a start. Let's be clear on something, though: It is hardly a finish.
Chipper Jones retired last year, Bobby Cox the season before that.
The lessons here -- and this is where the other local team needs to pay attention -- are athletes don't make the call and you make the decision based on what you see, not on what you hear.
In beating the Marlins 6-1 Thursday evening, the Nationals completed their first sweep in a season they hope will be filled with them.
Until proven otherwise, Washington is the team to beat in the National League East. The Braves -- or any other divisional contender -- will have to answer their own questions before they can challenge the Nationals for that crown.
Drug scandals have become even more prevalent in recent years and it is enough to make a cynic wonder about any significant athletic feat: clean or not clean?
If there is one thing that Dan Haren has almost always been able to call himself, it's a West Coast guy. Haren was born in California, went to high school and college there and has spent the majority of his 10-year major league career with teams housed either in the state or not far from it.
Even before the Washington Nationals' contingent had arrived at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel on Sunday afternoon, the question was being bandied about by members of the baseball community: What will the Nationals do next?
It was three weeks ago, a month removed from one of the most gut-wrenching nights of his career as a general manager, that Mike Rizzo reflected on the Washington Nationals' playoff exit.
