TORONTO - The pain of coming a couple outs away from a World Series title was still raw for Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins on Thursday.

They held end-of-season media availabilities five days after Toronto dropped a 5-4 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the Fall Classic at Rogers Centre.

"It certainly wasn't the last out that we had envisioned," Atkins said. "But a lot leading up to it was what we had envisioned."

It was a remarkable turnaround season for the Blue Jays, who finished last in the American League East standings a year ago. Toronto rebounded with a 94-win campaign to secure the division crown and top seed in the AL.

The Blue Jays earned their first playoff victory and series win in nine years when they eliminated the New York

See Full Page