Extended Siesta

An extended siesta is a lengthy break from everyday league operations, during which no games are played.
Unlike a traditional siesta, which will last a few hours at most, the extended siesta is intended to last at least one week, replacing the planned Season scheduling entirely. Also unlike a traditional siesta, fans are still able to use Blaseball.com to purchase items, view team rosters, read the rulebook, and so on.
The purpose of the extended siesta is to give the umpires and other league staff the opportunity to fix structural problems, implement large-scale changes, and to rest their tired flesh. Notably, it is also a time when the league will use Blaseball.com to speak to participants out-of-character by addressing themselves as The Game Band, a game development company, rather than as umpires.
Despite the lack of seasonal games, an extended siesta can still see major events with permanent consequences to all of Blaseball. For example, the first extended siesta involved The Commissioner repairing The Wyatt Masoning with the help of fans on Twitter.
==Extended Siesta I (Seasons β3-β4)==
The first extended siesta, occurred between and . No games took place for two weeks (August 10-23, 2020). It coincides with the period of The Discipline Era.
===The Unmasoning===
On August 12, The Commissioner addressed the events of The Wyatt Masoning in an official capacity on Twitter, by blaming the anomaly on a contractor and immediately beginning repairs. For the next three hours, fans were able to Like and Retweet specific tweets in order to repair the names of the Unlimited Tacos roster. The end results were mixed at best, with most players still retaining part of the name Wyatt Mason, and others gaining new errors altogether. Despite this, the official tweets remind that "the league bears no liability."The Commissioner [@blaseballcomms] (12 Aug 2020). Tweet - via Twitter.
===Messaging===
During this extended siesta, Blaseball.com displayed the following message from The Game Band (speaking out-of-character) to all participants.
"Blaseball is taking an Extended Siesta."
Blaseball began as a small side project that we decided would be fun to share. We've been overjoyed -- and honestly overwhelmed -- to watch it explode the way it has. We LOVE this community -- from the fan art to the wiki, to the team chants, rituals and personalities that sprang forth. This is way, way bigger than we expected. Your creativity continues to fuel and inspire us.
BLASEBALL WILL BE BACK. We plan to bring you more exciting action every week. But to do that, we need some time to fix bugs, add some features, make the machines bigger, and breathe. Our team is exhausted and overworked. We need a little time to recoup so Blaseball can come back stronger than ever.
But we will be back. The Peanut demands it. It's not finished with you yet.
We really appreciate your patience. We’re expanding the team right now so we can be ready to relaunch, hopefully in a week or two. Follow us on Twitter and Discord to stay in the loop as we prepare for Blaseball’s return.
And a very special thank you goes out to everyone who has supported us on Patreon. For those that can donate, any help goes a long way. Blaseball was created and self-published by a very small team, and it's going to be independence that keeps Blaseball’s spirit alive.
Thank you again, Blaseball fans. We will see you very soon.
We can't wait to see what you create next.
- The Game Band
On August 15, the league tweeted that "The Front Office is aiming for Season 4 play to begin on Monday, August 24."The Commissioner [@blaseballcomms] (15 Aug 2020). Tweet - via Twitter. This was the first confirmation that the extended siesta was to last for two weeks rather than one week.
==Extended Siesta II (Seasons β8-β9)==
The second extended siesta, occurred between and . No games took place for one week (Sep 28-Oct 4, 2020).
==Grand Siesta (Seasons β11-β12)==
The third extended siesta, or the Grand Siesta, occurred between and . The Coffee Cup took place during this Grand Siesta (Nov 17 – Dec 8, 2020), as did the non-canonical BlaseballCares Showdown (Dec 13, 2020), though no other games took place for four months (Oct 26, 2020 – Feb 28, 2021).
==Grand Siesta II (Seasons β24-1)==
The fourth extended siesta occurred between and Season 1. Excluding the Short Circuits (Nov 1–14, 2021; Dec 6–19, 2021; Jan 24 – Feb 6, 2022), which broke up the siesta, there were no other games for seventeen months (Jul 31, 2021 – Jan 9, 2023).
==Extended Siesta III (Seasons 2-3)==
The fifth extended siesta, and the first of the NEW Blaseball, occurred between Season 2 and Gamma Season 3, and began on Feb 3, 2023, at the tail end of the Offseason. The siesta "ended" upon the announcement of the end of Blaseball on June 2nd, 2023.
===Messaging===
The Game Band would create a number of Posts detailing progress toward the return of Blaseball from siesta, which can be expanded below. 
The Game Band created a Post at the start of the extended siesta:
One week later, on February 10th, 2023, The Game Band created another Post:
The week after, on February 17th, 2023, The Game Band created yet another Post:
On February 24, 2023, The Game Band created another Post updating on development progress:
On March 3, 2023, The Game Band created another Post:
Another Post was created on March 10, 2023:
Another Post was created on March 17, 2023:
On March 24, 2023, another Post was created concerning development progress:
On March 31, 2023, another Post was created concerning development priorities and a spring relaunch:
In addition to the March 31, 2023 development update, a new Post was created by the Bugcatcher:
On April 7, 2023, the Bugcatcher posted a new set of patch notes:
April 14, 2023 saw both a new Post from The Game Band and from the Bugcatcher:
On April 21, 2023, The Game Band and Bugcatcher returned with new Posts:
On April 28, 2023, the Bugcatcher returned with new patch notes:
On May 5, 2023, The Game Band and Bugcatcher returned with a Q&A and patch notes, respectively:
On May 12, 2023, The Game Band and the Bugcatcher returned with an update on development and patch notes, respectively:
On May 19, 2023, the Bugcatcher returned with patch notes:
On May 26, 2023, the Bugcatcher returned with more patch notes:
A final announcement was posted by The Game Band on June 2, 2023 announcing the end of Blaseball.
==Implications==
It is currently unclear what the teams and players do during an extended siesta, which can last for hundreds of days in seasonal Blaseball time. 
The lack of official league correspondence and the lack of media coverage for star players may be a deliberate tactic from the league to keep their most valued assets within the realm of Blaseball (both physically and mentally), as studies show that extended periods away from Blaseball could lead to players realizing that they do not have to play Blaseball.
Rumors are prevalent that the spacetime-ravaged Los Angeli became home to several league seasons in alternate dimensions, allowing the most dedicated of Blaseball players to get their fix while their main dimension was still in extended siesta.
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Category:History