Ben Clemens

The Blue Jays had just done that the year before.

And then all of a sudden you expect to be back there.

You expect to be on top of it.

And now you're just clawing and fighting and trying to get back in.

And you also realize that all the other 29 clubs are trying to improve on what they didn't do the year before.

So I think all that starts to be an understanding, a realization that no one's just going to hand it to you.

You just got to continue to keep weathering the storm.

And if we get a chance to get in, now we have a chance just like everybody else.

And it took us a while.

We ended up getting to the wildcard game, I think, against the Giants that year.

Unfortunately, we lost, but we did make it to the postseason, which is ultimately the goal that you want to have to

be able to achieve, especially after coming off of a World Series bid.

So it can be difficult.

The other 29 teams wanted to be in that spot.

You were in the previous year and everybody's hungry, trying to get back there.

So I think it's just a combination of a little bit of fatigue.

He did have a longer season, a little bit more to stay in.

aggressive and intent with the plan and staying just as hungry as you were the year before and sometimes it takes a shock to the system and right now i think they're getting that shock and realizing oh this isn't going to be as easy as we thought it was going to be and now it starts to turn as you're starting to see i think they're seven out of they've won seven out of their last ten so continue to keep riding the wave

Break it down into weeks at a time.

Break it down into series at a time.