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From a perspective of individual performances, opening day couldn't have provided much more promise for the Washington Nationals. Now it's on to Stephen Strasburg for what the club hopes can be a more complete season and an extension of his late-2015 form as the Nationals seek a two-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night at Turner Field. Strasburg, entering the last season of his contract, was by no means bad last season. Continue to Article

April 05, 2016 2:26:pm EST

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is on a mission this season. No, it's not to repeat as National League MVP, though that would be nice. It's to "make baseball fun again."  [ Sign up for Fantasy Baseball  |  Play for $40K  |  Expert rankings  |  Mock draft  ]  The 23-year-old wasn't kidding earlier in the offseason when he said he thought baseball was "tired." Despite some pushback , mainly from former major leaguer Goose Gossage, Harper isn't backing down from his statements. Quite the opposite, actually. Bryce Harper wearing a "Make Baseball Fun Again" hat. Love it, so much. pic.twitter.com/zESqRjO0qN — Mr. Schäfer (@misterschafer) April 5, 2016 Yep, that's a hat with the slogan "make baseball fun again" embroidered on it. There are a number of reasons to enjoy this. First off, it's great to see Harper double-down on his offseason statements. He believes players should be able to show emotion on the field, and he's going to stand by that. It's also a nice play on Donald Trump's "make America great again" slogan, and Harper gets extra points because his team plays in Washington, D.C.  While the usual Harper detractors will hate the decision, you can't really argue with his bravado at this point. He more than backed up his confidence last season, and managed to hit a home run in his first at-bat during Monday's game.  [ Related: Bryce Harper hit another home run on opening day ] So, express yourself however you want, Bryce. Celebrate after a home run, fist pump after a walk and wear a cap that embraces fun after a win. If you're producing like this and having fun out there, we fail to see how that's a bad thing for the future of the game.  More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: Grandstanding: A Yahoo Sports podcast Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed - - - - - - - Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik Continue to Article

April 04, 2016 10:02:pm EST