"Every step we get closer to the finish line, it becomes more and more tangible. It becomes more and more real," Kapler said. "But that doesn't mean we believe it anymore now than we did then. The idea was these young players who were in their developmental phase, if they do take that step forward and get much better or they get a little better, then we would be in the position that we're in. Now we take it a step further, they continue that development, they take one more step forward, we are a playoff team."