Washington, D.C., and Baltimore lie in relative proximity (though Washington does more lying than any other city). Yet they couldn’t be more different.

Baltimore’s nickname is Charm City; we can’t print the things people call D.C. nowadays. Baltimore is crabs; Washington is crabby.

Even the baseball teams don’t get along, fighting endlessly over the suburban fan bases and the spoils of their shared cable network partnership.

Today, though, the cities can share in each other’s good fortune. They’re both division winners. Be nice, boys and girls.

With an 8-2 victory on Tuesday night over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles won the American League East for the first time in 17 years. After endless domination by the now-faded Boston Red Sox and the aging New York Yankees, the Orioles reasserted themselves with a lineup of castoffs. Steve Pearce, who hit a three-run homer against the Jays, figures heavily in their success. They’ve lost catcher Matt Wieters to injury and first baseman Chris Davis to a suspension.

Elsewhere …

And in Atlanta, the Washington Nationals bested the Atlanta Braves 3-0 to win their second National League East title in three years. Ian Desmond, drafted when the Nationals were still the Montreal Expos in 2004, hit a two-run homer that carried the Nats past the Braves.

It’s way too early to predict a Beltway World Series. It’s not too early to dream. Here is a rivalry constructed not only on geography but by a business arrangement that causes the Nationals to chafe over their share of the revenues. No one in the Nationals’ arc will forget Orioles owner Peter Angelos’ declaration that Washington, which had twice lost its team in franchise shifts (once to become the Minnesota Twins, and later to emerge as the Texas Rangers) was not a baseball town.

Yep, way too early to think ahead to the Series. But we can dream, can’t we?

Today’s question

Do the Orioles and Nationals have what it takes to meet in the October Classic?

Answers in the comment box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .