Washington Post
11 months agoPerspective | These Washington Nationals are scrappy, fun - and on their way back up
After a long fall, the Washington Nationals might be headed back up.(Tony Avelar/AP) A baseball fan doesn't need a lot of hope to inflate a hot-air balloon of optimism.But you need some.For the Washington Nationals and their followers, the first precious gulps of happy helium have arrived.Five weeks of solid 15-15 play have given the Nats buoyancy after three years of relentless post-championship dross.