Like you, I feel it’s time for someone other than Ross Atkins to take the wheel. But unlike many, I am not holding a grudge against him.
While the Blue Jays are stalling, struggling and currently showing signs of regression, I believe the General Manager has not created this mess on purpose. Like any GM, Atkins wants to win and he makes choices that hopefully achieve the ultimate goal.
But nothing is guaranteed and when those choices don’t work out – even if it’s not his fault – Atkins is responsible for them; consequences to ultimately follow.
And let’s be honest: In a year when the Jays must decide if they’re going to shit or get off the toilet, the last few weeks have been ugly.
Unsurprisingly, the frustrating performance and negative feelings among the fanbase have led to a recurring discourse: The pining for Saint Alex Anthopoulos.
Hard to believe it’s been nearly nine years since the Jays’ former GM resigned from his post. AA helped forge a path to the postseason, ending that 20-plus-year hiatus. Since then, he’s enjoyed lots of success with Atlanta.
His success is deserved and one day, I hope AA is honoured in St. Mary’s AND Cooperstown. It’s a shame he felt it was time to move on in 2015, but as the expression goes, shit happens.
We all miss AA; some more than others.
Some express their displeasure with the Jays by treating AA as an exiled hero. To them, he brought sunshine and growth to the team. The Jays were a vibrant ecosystem under the watch of AA and the possibilities were endless.
But then, Mark Shapiro was hired as President and – in some minds – dark clouds formed over SkyDome. Atkins came next and while the Jays have had better regular season records than 2017-2019, the dark clouds are still there. It doesn’t help when the team has stalled in the playoffs three of the previous four seasons.
It also doesn’t help when a recent poll arranged by The Athletic of anonymous MLB executives adds fuel to the fire.
Lots of ammunition earmarked for Atkins. Lots of longing for Saint Alex.
But here’s the crazy part: Atkins is no different than AA.
Do you remember what was happening up until the 2015 Non-Waiver Trade Deadline? Did you forget about the online mob that wanted to banish AA?
Je me souviens.
Those who pine for AA now are the same fans who once wanted him fired.
All it took was two trades – Troy Tulowitzki and David Price – to change minds. Two trades that worked out immensely; reaching stratospheric levels.
And again, let’s be honest: We only miss AA because of those two trades.
We don’t miss him because the megadeals with the Mets and Marlins didn’t work out as well as we hoped. We don’t miss him because he exchanged Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes for Esmil Rogers. We don’t miss him because he felt Frank Francisco was worth the price of Mike Napoli. We don’t miss him because Kyle Drabek and Brett Lawrie didn’t live up to expectations.
Hell, we don’t even miss AA for positive transactions, like the trades that landed Josh Donaldson and Marco Estrada, or signing Russell Martin.
We miss AA because those two trades saved the 2015 Jays from crashing and burning. One could even argue that the reason he got another GM position was because of those two trades.
Acquiring Tulo and Price saved AA’s career!
And the same thing can happen to Ross Atkins.
All it takes is a trade or two that pays off handsomely. It would be the acquisition of a player or players who ignite a turnaround and get this team to play to their full potential. Just imagine one player or a collective of great talent that shows up suddenly in the Jays’ clubhouse, fires off like a rocket and takes the whole team with them.
If Atkins can pull this off – and it could even be someone in-house that he signed or drafted – then his script gets FLIPPED.
Those who condemn his baseball decisions and excessively critique his mannerisms will start singing a different, more complimentary song.
It certainly can happen. However, the question is will it happen?
That’s up to Atkins. It’s his job and reputation on the line. He has to figure it out.
Atkins is at the same crossroads AA was in 2015. While I feel he should be dismissed as GM, I am also hoping/praying he catches the proverbial lighting in a bottle. I want to see the Blue Jays win more than I want Atkins to be fired.
So, I’m crossing my fingers for Atkins as hard as I did for AA.
That’s just me. Do as you wish.
ER
Definitely Not JaysTalk 