John Schneider finally has an explanation for the Blue Jays' strangest season in years.
A year ago, Toronto was locking down an AL East title before riding all the way to extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series.
What followed was, in Schneider's own word, "weird."
"The farther you get away from last year, the better off you're going to be," Schneider told the Toronto Sun. "We were a good team having a bad year individually, and that led to some guys pressing."
The Game 7 loss to the Dodgers didn't end until Nov. 2, leaving barely any offseason before spring training arrived.
Six regulars then missed a chunk of camp representing their countries at the World Baseball Classic.
"I hate that we had that many regular guys miss that time during the WBC when we were trying to reset what we're doing here, but that's just the reality of it," Schneider said.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s lost season became an early flashpoint for everything else going wrong.
"It's like the expectation was Vlad was going to hit 70 homers this year after the postseason," Schneider said. "People wanted to be better than what they were, what they could be."
Schneider admitted he watched the entire World Series back afterward, partly to cope and partly to prepare for what awaited his team.
"You forget how devastating it was," he said. "Time is the only way to heal it, and going through different experiences."
Everything shifted after the Aug. 3 deadline. "Honestly, I think the deadline helped, where it was like you kind of pop a balloon," Schneider said.
"We're going to trade some guys that were a huge part of the organization, and we're going to lean into a different way of playing with different guys. It was a stressful time and they handled it really well."
Jose Soriano arrived and immediately pitched like a top-of-the-rotation force, especially valuable once Shane Bieber went down injured.
Rookie Brett Bateman has become his own story too, looking like a natural leadoff hitter almost from the moment he arrived.
Toronto closed August with a 17-11 record, sweeping the Mariners in an ALCS rematch to vault into the wild-card race.
The Blue Jays now open a critical series in Cleveland, 1.5 games back of the Guardians for the final spot, with Baltimore and Texas both lurking close behind.
"We all play each other, so it can turn quick," Schneider said. "Our focus is not to worry about winning every game, just trying to win every series."
"It's been a weird year, but we're navigating it," he added. "We like where we've landed right now, but there are definitely areas where we have to get better."
Do you believe the Blue Jays have fully shaken off their World Series hangover?
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