The 2009 Blue Jays in a Haiku

Tip of the cap to the ladies at Babes of Baseball for inspiring me to write this Haiku which pretty much summarizes the entire season for the Toronto Blue Jays;

Memories of the spring
Keep us warm in October.
That and the bourbon.

It ended in a way that we’ve become all too familiar with in 2009; a one-run loss in extra innings (on an error, to boot). That makes a grand total of 28 one-run losses and 13 losses in extra innings for the Jays this year.

So the Blue Jays finish with a 75-87 record, the ninth worst finish in franchise history and the worst since 2004 when they were 67-94. The funny thing is that this is pretty much where everybody pegged the Blue Jays to be at the end of this year – fourth place in the AL East or worse.


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Even looking back at the Blue Jays Roundtable that Mop Up Duty spearheaded before the season started, almost everyone said that the Jays would hover around .500 if not finish slightly above. Callum even predicted a 76-86 record, which was nearly identical to the actual, so I am definitely getting him to predict the over/under for the Superbowl.

It’s a shame the season had to end on this note for the Blue Jays; being swept at the hands of one of the worst teams in the American League. This was the very same Blue Jays team that swept one of the best teams in the American League at Fenway Park in the prior series. It’s been frustrating to watch, to say the least.

This past weekend was undoubtedly filled with distractions, what with Cito-gate and J.P. Ricciardi being let go. After all of that happened in such a short span of time so close to the end of the schedule, it definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth of Blue Jays fans.

But there is hope! Next season, there will be a new President (hopefully), a new General Manager and hopefully a new coaching staff as well. With all of that, there will be a new vision moving forward for the Toronto Blue Jays and hopefully some better results.

For the time being, let’s just pass that bourbon around to keep us warm through the off season. It burns, but it’s a good burn. Besides, after three shots you can barely even taste it anyway.

See ya back next year, boys.

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

10 thoughts on “The 2009 Blue Jays in a Haiku

  • October 5, 2009 at 2:53 pm
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    brilliant haiku

    I would substitute gin, but it would throw off the rhyming scheme.

  • October 5, 2009 at 2:54 pm
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    I think memories of Hill, Lind, and perhaps Ruiz will probably provide a bit of glow on those cold nights to come — maybe Millar's warm smile (I'm stretching here)?

    Just a quick note on your 158-game record for 2004. I've got a 67-94 record for 2004, but not sure what happened to the 162nd game.

  • October 5, 2009 at 6:40 pm
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    The haiku is on point, bro. Nicely done.

  • October 5, 2009 at 7:14 pm
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    Great season of posts. This was my first half season on your site and hope you continue with updates from now til the season starts again. Thanks for keeping us Jays junkies amused…

  • October 5, 2009 at 9:19 pm
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    DS, feel free to substitute whatever alcoholic beverage that floats your boat. Every time I think of gin, I think of Christmas trees, so that's why I chose bourbon.

    eyeB, thanks my friend! I actually spent far too much time thinking how to summarize the Blue Jays season in that small of a Haiku. It's a lot harder than it looks.

    Mattt, thanks for the kind words and dropping by this year. Always glad to have your feedback. I will be probably be doing some playoff posts and will be writing throughout the offseason. This one is going to be a busy one, that's for certain.

  • October 5, 2009 at 9:20 pm
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    Oh, and QJays thanks for catching my error. Obviously, I've gotten into the bourbon already.

  • October 6, 2009 at 1:12 am
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    No problem – that's a good place to be.
    I was still surprised to learn that the Jays played one less game than their AL East counterparts in 2004 – I never got as far as determining which team the missing game was against.

  • October 6, 2009 at 2:49 am
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    Good eye, I never even noticed that. It was probably a rain out in the last month of the season that never got played. I checked Baseball Reference, and I can't find out who it was against either.

  • October 6, 2009 at 4:28 pm
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    Too dorky for words, I know. I finally checked, and Tampa also played 161 (finishing in 4th). Same year, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee filled the NL Central basement with records that add to 161 as well. So either it was interleague rain outs in both cases that never got re-scheduled (unlikely) or 2 late season rain outs between cellar dwellers.
    In any case, how about a motto: "At least it's not 2004"

  • October 6, 2009 at 10:53 pm
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    Good research QJays! Obviously MLB couldn't have been bothered to reschedule those games because the Jays and the Rays were so god awful at the time.

    I'm digging the "At least it's not 2004" line!

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