Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are already the feel-good story of the early 2012 Major League Baseball season. They are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the National League at 14-6, plus they have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.

The Washington Nationals have been plagued with injury after injury since spring training. They might be dealing with their biggest injury yet as Ryan Zimmerman was sent for an MRI on Tuesday night.

Washington Nationals' prospect Tyler Moore made the first start of his career in left field on Monday. He previously played first base exclusively.

Moore possesses an extremely powerful bat, mashing 68 home runs since the 2010 season.

He's hit 31 home runs in each of the past two seasons and is off to a hot start thus far. In 17 games (62 at-bats), Moore has six home runs, 16 RBI and a line of .290/.357/.613.

The absence of Drew Storen at the end of ballgames is beginning to weigh on the Washington Nationals.

Innings limits may not always be the most popular thing for managers and owners to impose, but they are definitely important in keeping young arms fresh and healthy.

The Washington Nationals took a big step forward in 2011, and they'll head into 2012 looking to take yet another big step forward.

The Nats finished just a game under .500 last season, which is pretty impressive considering the fact Jayson Werth was a bust in the first year of his big contract and they only got to enjoy five starts from Stephen Strasburg. 

Every few seasons, a small market team emerges as a surprise contender.  Caught up in the rush of playoff talk, these teams often rush into trades without realizing the consequences of dealing away prospects in hopes of securing a playoff berth.

The Montreal Expos were that team in 2002. They made a blockbuster trade and in the process traded away three future All-Stars.

The Washington Nationals have frequently been the worse team in baseball. In their short existence, they have never won a World Series or even made it to the playoffs.

Constantly, the Nats have been plagued by inconsistency and failure to deliver the finishing touch.

This year, however, the Nationals are going to make the playoffs.

Heading into spring training, Michael Morse had already proven that he was a major league hitter. In parts of seven seasons, the 29-year-old had batted .284/.347/.440 with 21 homers and 92 RBI in 661 at-bats.

If he had a good spring, he had a lock on at least half of the left field job, likely platooning with Roger Bernadina. His spring however, was a knockout. Morse batted .364/.421/.818 with nine homers (second in the Grapefruit League) and 18 RBI.

He won the left field job outright.

Having completed an old fashioned double-header over the weekend, the Washington Nationals get set to  complete three games in a 24 hour span.

Sitting at 9-8 right now, a record good enough to sit on top of the N.L. Central, few notice because the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves dominate the N.L. East ink.