The Nationals haven’t qualified for the postseason since 1981, 31 years and an international border ago, the longest playoff drought in the four major sports. Particularly with the addition of a second wild card, it seems likely that Washington’s drought will finally end this year. The Marlins have the new ballpark, the new image, the new manager, the new superstar, and the new buzz. All the Nationals have is the better team.

That is the last paragraph in an interesting article written by Rany Jazayerli over at Grantland.  I hope he’s right!  (I think he is – I’ll write more about that later when I give my annual season preview (or as it is more commonly known as, “Picks and Predictions that Are Sure to Be Wrong.”)