To answer one of those questions, which is probably the most important one of the convo, yes, there is a massive difference from a team hovering around .500 or better vs a 58 win team, when the ownership of the team is who they are. They need the Jays to be relevant in the standings far more often than not in order to take full advantage of the marketing machine that the team is for them.
I’m not even arguing that Atkins has failed to put the finishing touches on the team he built, just that doing what the Orioles are currently doing is also absurd to pattern after, so singing their praises as an org as a model to follow is dumb.