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By my count, there are currently 18 teams with legitimate shots at making the postseason, based on both the standings and how on well they've actually played. And with a bit of optimism, that number could be stretched to 20 or 21. And it'd be easy to examine each of them with a semi-educated eye, handicapping their chances. American League today, National League tomorrow.

Who knows, maybe we'll do something like that next week. If I don't, somebody else will. Or you can do it yourself (like I said, it's not really so hard). Today, though, we must stop for a moment and focus on one of the most unlikely teams that's ever been: the 2005 Washington Nationals.

There are two facts regarding the Nationals which, separately, are not all that interesting, but taken together they're something we've not seen in a long while.

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