Rachel Levitin: Nats' expectations clashing with stark reality

When it comes to professional sports, looking good on paper can be deceiving when weighed against the actions of a team in any given season. This is what seems to be plaguing the Nationals in 2015.

Two division titles in three years and the Nats are struggling to paw their way back to the top of the National League East and dethrone the New York Mets before time runs out on the regular season. And while wins like last night's 15-6 blowout victory against the Rockies in Colorado are nice to see - especially when it helps end a six-game losing skid - occasional one-off wins aren't going to save them.

Manager Matt Williams is attempting some changes by shuffling the lineup, but last night's success is no guarantee that a lineup swap is going to be what helps this team beat out the Mets for the division title.

Most of the anticipated and desired starting nine are back in the game after spending occasional time on the disabled list this season. Leadoff man and outfielder Denard Span remains down for the count, at least for now, and the Nats rotation hasn't been as sharp as it was earlier on in the year.

What plagues the Nats seems to a combination of high expectations (both internally, within the organization, and externally, within the fan base and beyond) clashing with the stark reality of not meeting said expectations. This, of course, is what happens when an team born into losing suddenly becomes the focus of attention based on their first inkling of success.

The thing is, the 2015 Nats aren't the same as any previous iterations. And when teams change from year to year while expectations stay the same, that gives way to the potential for disappointment. What remains quite clear, based on current standings, is that the Nats need to find a way to beat out the Mets for the division title.

Rachel Levitin blogs about the Nationals for District Sports Page. Follow her on Twitter: @RHLevitin. She will be sharing her observations about baseball in the nation's capital as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.