WASHINGTON I was on the platform at the LEnfant Plaza station when I saw him, the person who I knew existed, but was really hoping not to see today. Hes not a bad person (unle s he is), but I cant pa s judgment on the character of a man I do not know beyond his wardrobe. That would be unfair.

This guy... Oh, this guy... I have some feelings to talk about now.

Je se Spector (@je sespector)

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Nationals Hat Expos Shirt Man, it would be a lot easier if you hadnt shown up today.

Im not from Montreal. Im a New Yorker. I grew up always at least liking the Expos because, in my mind, they were the reason that the O-Pee-Chee and Leaf baseball cards that would occasionally pop up at the corner store had French baseball words like voltigeur for outfielder.

I didnt know that it was because everything Canadian had to include French. It made sense that it was only for Montreal.The Expos had that cool elb logo that really was an M but mostly seemed shrouded Lyle Alzado Jerseys in mystery. They had the tri-color caps, and the beautiful powder-blue uniforms that so many teams of the day had only theirs also had the red-white-and-blue racing stripes.

The first game I ever saw outside of New York was at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and Graig Nettles played for the Expos. My parents loved Graig Nettles from his time with the Yankees, so I embraced his presence with Montreal.

Then there was 1994, and how could you not feel bad for a team that had never been to the World Series, having their guts ripped out by the strike?

It wasnt Gene Upshaw Jerseys until late in the team'sexistence that I really became an Expos fan, that was never going to work, but that tied them to my heart forever.

I was at the last game in Montreal, 10 years ago, and at Shea Stadium for the death rattle, Endy Chavez grounding out against Bartolome Fortunato, with my favorite player, Jamey Carroll, waiting on deck.

I cling to the alternate reality of Carroll having gotten his at-bat, fouling off pitches for eternity, preserving the Expos existence because baseball is the sport where even a meaningle s regular-season game never has to end, so long as that final out is not recorded.

Some Expos fans maintained their allegiance to the franchisebecause they Malcolm Koonce Jerseys needed a team to root for, and because the Nationals still were, in roster bodies, if not in spirit, their beloved team.

Nos Amours means nothing to Washington, and the Nationals have embraced the Expos history only when it is convenient to them to cite franchise history records that make their existence seem more impre sive and permanent than something that just popped up in 2005.

Danny Espinosa is on the Nationals roster for the NLDS. He wears No. 8. If the Nationals had really wanted anything to do with Montreal, they would have kept Gary Carters number retired, as well as No. 10 for Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub.

Nationals Hat Expos Shirt Man either is one of the fans who clung to the franchise because of the roster commonality, or is a big ol hipster. It doesnt matter. Hes free to make his choice, and Im free to make mine, which is to take Washington as an independent entity, just like the Orioles are divorced from the St. Louis Browns, and the Nate Hobbs Jerseys Twins and Rangers from the two iterations of Washington Senators.

Change the name of a team upon moving, and the choice you have made is to divorce from the original city.

The Nationals succe s is only about the Nationals, and putting a Washington hat together with a Montreal shirt only serves as a reminder of what might have been, if only there had been some kind of stability in Quebec.If only Major League Baseball had cared as much about propping up that team and that city as it does about propping up, say, the Wilpon regime in New York.

Washington deserves a team, theres no question about that. So does Montreal. I still believe that team will exist someday, and that it happens without taking someone elses team away.

For now, this is the Nationals time and place, which is perfectly cool, and would be great to enjoy without thinking back to the franchise that was killed so that the new one could exist. After 10 years, including a division title, it would be nice if the terms of the divorce could be finalized once and for all.