The End

So that's it I suppose? As the Blue Jays rally against the Rays fell short on Sunday afternoon the lights went down in the Rogers Centre not to be turned on again (for anything meaningful) until April of next year. Funnily enough, the power went out in my place shortly after the power went out on the Blue Jays season for good yesterday. If we want to keep the metaphors going, the song I was listening to was called "Too Late". Maybe I'll cue up "Fix You" by Coldplay for the anthem of the offseason.

I don't think many of us have ever experienced the type of season that just occurred over the past five months. The hype coming into the season reached levels I've rarely ever seen as a sports fan. There's going to be a multitude of things written about the year that unfolded, dissecting the 2013 Blue Jays and all their shortcomings, but it's too late to do anything about it and the quicker this year is forgotten the better.

A lot of frustrating stuff is going to happen in the offseason, with fans calling for heads to roll and changes to be made to a team that could very well have about ten or more wins if injuries didn't happen so often and luck went their way a little more often. That's the way it goes when you support a losing baseball team and realistically, major changes likely won't be made to this year's edition of the Blue Jays. Spring training will open up next March with most of the same faces and most of the same people in charge, which is probably for the best. No one could have predicted this at the outset of the season and blowing up the team probably wouldn't solve anything. Maybe the good part about such an abysmal season is the chance to get excited for this team all over again next year. If the Blue Jays had stormed through the year and made the playoffs it might have been a fun ride, but there'd no longer be the light at the end tunnel that we've come accustomed to looking towards for 20 years as Blue Jays fans.

To avoid a long rambling sadness-filled post, I'll wrap up by saying that the 2013 season was pretty fun for the first few months and a lot of that has to do with everyone here on Bluebird Banter. All the comments and posts collectively help us get through the rough patches and suffering through such bad baseball is much easier with the knowledge that thousands of other people are yelling at their TV's right along with you. I enjoyed previewing the opposing team's starting pitchers in the "Who Are Ya?" posts immensely and hopefully people got some use from them. A big congratulations to the poster formerly known as expos&nordiques4ever as he came from way behind and edged out getupkid for the title in the "Find the Link" contest. You really do deserve a prize for the dedication, but you're not getting one. The final standings looked like this:

1. expos&nordiques4ever: 30
2. getupkid: 21.5
3. davepaskar: 10
4. Goldenhawk99: 8
5. Mathlete: 5.5
6. Siggian: 4
7. peter3309: 4
8. ABsteve: 4
9. yleviticus: 3
10. madrush: 3
11. JaysfanDL: 2.75
12. McBluejays: 2
13. RogerHunt: 2
14. fishedin: 2
15. Maj. Major Major Major: 2
16. Siefert: 2
17. Damaso's Burnt Shirt: 2
18. Dr_Furious: 2
19. rcharris_85: 1
20. dexfarkin: 1
21. mudit.rawat: 1
22. Shift: 1
23. centerfield420: 1
24. plen: 1
25. Belisarius: 1
26. Lutherie: 1
27. Cusefan: 1
28. Eric54: 1
29. downtownmichaelbrown: 1
30. bryfryy: 0.5

The offseason is arguably when the site is at it's best as there's no actual baseball to watch, but a lot of baseball-related talk to be had. Last winter was extremely fun due to the all the moves the team made and this year should be just as enjoyable so don't go anywhere. Enjoy the playoff baseball and start the countdown for next year. Good riddance to this season.