Oh Canada ... Where are you in the World Series?

How does a baseball team from Washington help break a losing streak for a team from Canada? The answer is easy ... move your team to Washington.

On this day in 1981, the first Canadian pennant hopes were lost when the Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos in the deciding game of the National League Championship Series.

This series was the first and last time in franchise history the team would make it into the postseason.

The game was a nail bitter, too, just adding to the suspense of a season already shortened by a players-strike. The Dodgers and Expos had tied it 1-1 heading into the 9th inning of Game 5. L.A.'s Rick Monday hit the game winning home run and sent the Expos packing north. Since the game was played on a Monday and lost by a Monday, Expo fans have referred to this historic event as "Blue Monday."

It's been pretty blue for Canadian baseball fans. They haven't seen a team from their nation in the pennant race since 1993 when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series.  The Blue Jays were a powerhouse in the early 90s winning 5 division titles and back to back world series in 1992 and 1993. Since then their Octobers have been quiet.

Ironically, the team that makes the world series extra "worldy" hardly ever makes an appearance in the contest.

So what accounts for the lack of Cannucks in the world series? Perhaps it could be the limited number of teams. The Montreal Expos don't play there anymore. As of now, it's only the Blue Jays, putting a lot of pressure on one team competing against some pretty stiff competition in the American League. Or, maybe it's because October baseball overlaps the more popular hockey season? What do you think is keeping Canada from making it to the series? I'd welcome you to leave your thoughts in the comments.

But, we still haven't answered the question of how a team from Washington can break a losing streak. Seven seasons ago the Montreal Expos moved to Washington D.C taking on the moniker, The Washington Nationals. This year, 2012, the Nationals won NL East division and headed to the postseason. This marked the first time since the 1981 appearance that the franchise (under any name) made it to postseason. The Nationals didn't make it past the Division series, but they successfully ended more than 30 years of post season drought.

So, if you're a Montreal Expos fan, this year isn't so blue.

Sources:
Total Pro Sports: Blue Monday http://goo.gl/HFOP9
National Pastime: Baseball History: October 9th  http://goo.gl/uwMnz
Wikipedia: World Series http://goo.gl/xrCTS
Wikipedia: Toronto Blue Jays http://goo.gl/0OJV8