Nationals Look to Turn Other Teams' Trash Into Their Treasure

With the christening of their new ballpark only weeks away, the Nationals finally look like they're beginning to take root in D.C. Long gone are the days of contraction talks and chartered flights from Montreal to San Juan back when it was the shame of the league to call yourself an Expo and the organization's motto was 'Anywhere else or bust'. And although the pall of mediocrity has haunted the team since its move to the nation's capital in 2005, they kept their heads held high, employing one of the game's most revered legends, Frank Robinson, as manager for their first two years in D.C. before bringing upstart manager, Manny Acta into the fold last year to help move the organization toward a positive future. Acknowledging that the team still has a long way to go in one of the most competitive and cut-throat divisions in baseball, the NL East, the Nats made three relatively minor trades this past off-season that illustrate the organization's willingness to go where others will not and ability to ... [link]