The Feelgood Baseball Story of the Year

Finally, the vagabond, orphaned Montreal Expos have found a home. After slogging through Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos' maneuvering to keep the team away from "his" market, the Washington Nationals arrived with great pomp and ceremony. The franchise has been an incubator for great players, such as Vlad Guerrero, Larry Walder, Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Gary Carter and many others. They now enjoy the services of Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro (the second baseman for my fantasy league team). Even better, the team is now 6-4 after Livan Hernandez' near gem, eight innings of one-hit shutout ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks (6-3 entering the game). This team, managed by legend Frank Robinson, has deserved a better fate than the Quebequois indifference it suffered in recent years, with a crumbling stadium, dwindling crowds and hamstrung ownership by Major League Baseball. They have some work to do to become a contender, but at least they now have some folks to cheer them on.