I hate this "Well, look at these Washington Nationals! I say, they sure look better than they did in Montreal! Having a true home sure helps!"
No, having Major League Baseball not sabotage the fucking team for once sure helps.
Les Expos finished second in the East in 2002, and were a wild card contender in 2003 until the Labor Day callups when MLB said "sry d00ds you can't get teh minor leaguers" and left the team to rot for the last month, then in 2004 assembled a team that was built to finish dead last because they couldn't afford to spend the money. Then there was Omar Minaya jumping off the sinking ship for the Mets before the season even ended, which I'm convinced couldn't fly with any other team in the majors. Fast forward to the end of 2004, when suddenly they acquire Guillen, Castilla, Guzman, and Loaiza, who can't come that cheap. But ownership never changed, so how are they any more available for Washington than they were for Montreal?
So basically it feels like MLB orchestrated the shitty finale for the Expos and then loaded up the Nationals to look somewhat respectable to further the illusion that DC is good and Canada is bad. Just a thought.