A portrait of agony. (Photo by Brian Knight)

One of the great injustices of modern times could soon be put to bed, according to the latest chatter. Teddy Roosevelt, a great president and terrific sportsman, may soon no longer be the official patsy of the Washington Nationals.

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for a Congressional investigation into the six-year debacle of Teddy never winning a single Presidents Race. The next day, the White House said that President Obama is also concerned by the trend.

But U.S. News reports today the repeated humiliation of the 26th president might end as early as a week from today, when the Nationals play their final home game of the season. The team even seems to be suggesting as much:

Though the Nationals press office is staying mum about whether a Teddy victory is on the horizon, the team has already dropped some hints of a win.

This week, the Nationals named the final series the “TeddyIn2012” series. The team launched a hashtag #teddyin2012 on social media, and announced Teddy-themed giveaways—including Teddy eye black, bumper stickers and pins—for the final three games. An entirely Teddy-focused page was also created on the Nationals site.

So why next Wednesday? Not only is the 1:05 p.m game one last chance to stick it to the hated Philadelphia Phillies, it’s also Fan Appreciation Day. Scott Ableman, who writes almost-daily Rooseveltian laments on the blog Let Teddy Win, says Nationals fans have been waiting a long, long time for this, and the Nationals making their first playoff appearance after many disappointing season might be the perfect moment to let the ignominy of the Presidents Races finally end.

“Barring a historic collapse, the Nationals will have just clinched their first division championship, putting their history of cellar-dwelling formally behind them,” he writes in an email. “What better way to thank fans then by giving us what we’ve been asking for since 2006?”

The other juicy tidbit in the U.S. News story is that if Teddy wins, the Nationals might even introduce a fifth racing president next year. We’ll have some more thoughts on that tomorrow.