One of the joys of Spring Training is supposed to be taking a break from the icy darkness of wherever you’re from to head south and dream of the warm summer nights that must be around the corner if baseball’s begun. This winter, of course, we’ve all been able to keep our tans, and the kids never had to quit their stickballing in the alley, but it’s still pretty exciting to think that it’s nearly…

But for a few cities in flyover country the baseball season is effectively over, and the rest of the nation has turned its full attention to the gridiron. In Washington, the story is no different, this being the peak of the D.C. sporting year, and the Post is in full Skins swing, plastering banner photographs on Monday editions above war news and natural disasters. For real baseball towns, however, the offseason is an art in…

(Editor’s Note: Now to the second part of our Nationals opening day’s coverage) Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, but go check the MLB standings. Your eyes don’t deceive you: The Nats alone hold first place in the NL East this morning. And they got there by stopping the formidable Arizona D’Backs 5 runs to 3 in 8½ innings at RFK Stadium. But before that, there was some schmaltz to get out of the…