Blue Jays’ WS hump could be history in 2017

For Toronto Blue Jays fans, Joe Carter’s legendary home run that won the 1993 World Series seems eons ago.

The image of that historic blast resurfaced when the Blue Jays ended their 22-year postseason drought in 2015 and returned again last month. But making it to the World Series has become a huge hump in the journey they haven’t been able to overcome.

The door to MLB’s jewel event has been slammed shut.

When the Blue Jays were the best of the best, winning championships back-to-back from 1992-93, they made it look easy. They’ve learned the hard way how difficult it is.

Toronto lost to eventual World Series winner Kansas City in the 2015 American League Championship Series and went quietly at the hands of the Indians, who pushed the Cinderella Cubs to the brink before falling in Game 7 of the 2016 Series last month, in five games in this year’s ALCS.

Blue Jays fans who re-energized Rogers Center and sadly walked out after the Indians won the AL pennant shouldn’t be moping around when they’re knee-deep in snow this winter. Brighter days are coming.

Those two years of disappointment just might propel the Blue Jays to bigger and better things, i.e. the World Series, in 2017.

With 20-game winner J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Francisco Liriano, obtained from Pittsburgh last August, the Blue Jays will roll out one of the most formidable rotations in the Majors next spring.

Starting pitching was a legitimate bonus for the Blue Jays in 2016, when they gained one of the AL’s two Wild Card berths. Even though their potent, highly celebrated offense was completely shut down …

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