The Washington Nationals roared into the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star break with a six-game lead in the National League East and looking every bit the World Series contender fans had hoped. Even better, there's no daunting fear of déjà vu.
The Nationals led the division by two games when entering last year's break, then disappeared in August to finish the season 83-79. But that history doesn't look repeatable, if only because last year's division-champion New York Mets are now 47-41 with depleted starting pitching. Even worse, the Mets' former star, infielder Daniel Murphy, now leads the NL batting race for the Nats.
The Nationals are for real. And they're about to get really good.
