Is it too early to believe in the 2010 Washington Nationals?

Yesterday's Washington Nationals 1-0 victory of the Los Angeles Dodgers (The Post) came on a warm, sunny day that was supposed to be rainy. There is an emerging theme amongst the players, the beat writers (Nats Insider), columnists (The Post) and even among skeptical bloggers (Capitol Punishment) that these Nats, now 10-9 and tied for second place in the NL East, are a very different team than the one we have grown accustomed to since 2006. Right now, 3 weeks into the season, the Nats are one win over mediocrity. A common refrain in spring training was that the team would be improved over last year, but the first 40 games of the schedule did them no favors. Indeed, on Opening Day, when the Philadelphia Phillies came to town and dropped 11 consecutive runs (and thousands of fans recruited by the Nats ticket office) on Washington, even the optimistic D.C. fans were having some buyers remorse about the new hope. Then, after losing again in game 2, the Nats held on to win game 3. ...