Reds (Lodolo) vs Blue Jays (Soriano?): 9/25/26, 7:07pm

[jaysblue]

14 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

I've personally never liked him.  His antics, combined with his inability to fulfill his potential or seemingly make any adjustments has always rubbed me the wrong way.

This is the nail.  I'm appalled at the number of people making excuses for him.  He isn't a child anymore.  He knew what he said and he doubled down on it.  It's no accident.   He only apologized because he was told to.

Agreed 100%

Imagine if Vladdy played in Philly or New York. He’s honestly pretty fortunate he plays in Toronto, because this market is far more patient and forgiving with its star players. In New York or Philly, the media scrutiny, fan reaction, and day-to-day pressure would be on a completely different level.

[jaysblue]

Vladdy also partnered with Betway earlier this season. I’m not saying sportsbooks are dictating what happens on the field, but I do think fans are way too quick to brush off how deeply these companies are embedded in professional sports now.

When a betting company is paying a player to promote its brand while also taking wagers on that same player’s performance, that should at least raise some eyebrows. Even if everything is completely above board, the conflict-of-interest optics are hard to ignore.

[jaysblue]

11 minutes ago, Omar said:

 

 

They definitely seemed to crank up the volume of his walk-up song during the broadcast for his first AB, which I found a little strange. I’m not sure what kind of reaction he actually got inside Rogers Centre last night.

But it is Toronto, so I’m guessing there were probably some boos mixed in with a lot of fans who were more focused on enjoying their $20 beers, hanging out, and treating the game like a social event than getting too worked up over Vladdy.

[jaysblue]

14 hours ago, Jays24 said:

10 years with 1 successful season.  1 impactful prospect to potentially show for during that time who still hasnt had a full good season in the majors while working with a top 5 payroll in baseball.  

Atkins might have the best job security in professional sports with the least amount actually achieved.  It would only fly in such a soft baseball market tbh lol. 

I think you have to give Atkins credit for at least five of his ten seasons.

Sure, in 2016 I give the majority of the credit to AA, but Atkins still did a nice job maneuvering around that roster and making some really solid additions - J.A. Happ, Jason Grilli, Francisco Liriano and Joaquin Benoit. So he definitely deserves some credit for that season.

2020 was obviously a weird, shortened year, but they still made the postseason. It was also the first season with the young core of Vlad and Bo where they played meaningful games. Over 162 games, maybe they don’t make it, but it still mattered in terms of the team taking a step forward.

2021 was one of the best rosters this team has had on paper. Not addressing the bullpen early enough really cost them, but I still consider that season a success because it showed how good this core could be. It also helped set up what came next with the Gausman signing, the Chapman trade and other moves.

2022 was a solid season, and they absolutely should have beaten Seattle in Game 2 of the Wild Card.

2023 was frustrating because the lineup had very little power, but the pitching was rock solid and they still made the Wild Card.

And then obviously 2025 was the best season of the Atkins era to date.

So no, I’m not saying all ten years were successful, but I also don’t think it’s fair to act like the entire Atkins tenure has been a failure. There have been several legitimately good seasons in there.

[John_Havok]

13 hours ago, Omar said:

Hopefully Clement hits the weight room this off season.

Why? Will that help him stop swinging at pitches a foot off the plate?

[max silver]

2 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

Why? Will that help him stop swinging at pitches a foot off the plate?

Nope but it will help him hit those balls a bit harder so they die at the warning track instead of 10 feet away from the warning track. 🤪

[SpencerBateman]

5 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

Why? Will that help him stop swinging at pitches a foot off the plate?

most votes in AL for all star game.  I dont know what his stats are but he must be top 3 player in AL I would think.  Like it goes 1: Aaron Judge, 2: Mike Trout, 3: Ernie I would imagine.

[Jays24]

36 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

I think you have to give Atkins credit for at least five of his ten seasons.

Sure, in 2016 I give the majority of the credit to AA, but Atkins still did a nice job maneuvering around that roster and making some really solid additions - J.A. Happ, Jason Grilli, Francisco Liriano and Joaquin Benoit. So he definitely deserves some credit for that season.

2020 was obviously a weird, shortened year, but they still made the postseason. It was also the first season with the young core of Vlad and Bo where they played meaningful games. Over 162 games, maybe they don’t make it, but it still mattered in terms of the team taking a step forward.

2021 was one of the best rosters this team has had on paper. Not addressing the bullpen early enough really cost them, but I still consider that season a success because it showed how good this core could be. It also helped set up what came next with the Gausman signing, the Chapman trade and other moves.

2022 was a solid season, and they absolutely should have beaten Seattle in Game 2 of the Wild Card.

2023 was frustrating because the lineup had very little power, but the pitching was rock solid and they still made the Wild Card.

And then obviously 2025 was the best season of the Atkins era to date.

So no, I’m not saying all ten years were successful, but I also don’t think it’s fair to act like the entire Atkins tenure has been a failure. There have been several legitimately good seasons in there.

I didnt say they were all a failure... just 1 season that was a true success when you look at the end result.  Of course thats a simplistic view as you should count seasons where you slowly improve after a rebuild as successful too. 

I count 2020 to 2022 as good seasons where the team was trending in the right direction.  2023 to me was a sign this team was headed in the wrong direction as everyone here was just waiting to get shut out in the wild card games with the anemic offense. 

The swings between 2024/2025/2026 are wild so its hard to see where the franchise is truly headed if they arent allowed to spend at this level after the new CBA.  My main point was that I can hardly think of a GM in any sport who has been given 10 years with only 1 season where the team even won a playoff round and no championship.

Also, in no way am I crediting Atkins for 2016 but like Max said, he gets the benefit of having to rebuild with no prospects in the cupboard due to that.  

[Brownie19]

1 hour ago, jaysblue said:

I think you have to give Atkins credit for at least five of his ten seasons.

Sure, in 2016 I give the majority of the credit to AA, but Atkins still did a nice job maneuvering around that roster and making some really solid additions - J.A. Happ, Jason Grilli, Francisco Liriano and Joaquin Benoit. So he definitely deserves some credit for that season.

2020 was obviously a weird, shortened year, but they still made the postseason. It was also the first season with the young core of Vlad and Bo where they played meaningful games. Over 162 games, maybe they don’t make it, but it still mattered in terms of the team taking a step forward.

2021 was one of the best rosters this team has had on paper. Not addressing the bullpen early enough really cost them, but I still consider that season a success because it showed how good this core could be. It also helped set up what came next with the Gausman signing, the Chapman trade and other moves.

2022 was a solid season, and they absolutely should have beaten Seattle in Game 2 of the Wild Card.

2023 was frustrating because the lineup had very little power, but the pitching was rock solid and they still made the Wild Card.

And then obviously 2025 was the best season of the Atkins era to date.

So no, I’m not saying all ten years were successful, but I also don’t think it’s fair to act like the entire Atkins tenure has been a failure. There have been several legitimately good seasons in there.

In terms of W-L, it's one of the best stretches in our history.  Playoffs are a crapshoot.

[Omar]

1 hour ago, John_Havok said:

Why? Will that help him stop swinging at pitches a foot off the plate?

The guy looks spindly and anemic.  At least he should have the power to get the ball out of the infield. Maybe he's still sick?.

[Carlos Danger]

4 hours ago, jaysblue said:

They definitely seemed to crank up the volume of his walk-up song during the broadcast for his first AB, which I found a little strange. I’m not sure what kind of reaction he actually got inside Rogers Centre last night.

But it is Toronto, so I’m guessing there were probably some boos mixed in with a lot of fans who were more focused on enjoying their $20 beers, hanging out, and treating the game like a social event than getting too worked up over Vladdy.

It appeared to me that they did crank up the volume of the walk up song....  I'm sure that was one of the mitigation bullet points once the Jay's PR team got their butt's in gear with this debacle.