jaysblue

When something bad happened with this team last season, it was always just because of "bad luck' which was being thrown around as an excuse way too easily by some members on this board to give Atkins and the FO a free pass. Yes, there was some "luck" involved obviously with signing KK and Belt last offseason. They were definitely shrewd moves and the Jays got more than what they expected from both of them given their age, injury concerns and prior season. Belt was 35 and coming off an injury plagued season and KK was 33 and had durability concerns. Both players looked like they were past their prime and came with some risk. Jays took a gamble on them both for bounce back seasons and it paid off. Sometimes these types of deals work and sometimes they don't. I've always gave Atkins credit and praise last season for the KK and Belt signings. So I guess all the trade deadline deals AA made in 2021 for Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario were all shrewd trades and AA was a total genius? I remember some posters on here saying AA was just lucky they rode bats like Duvall, Soler and Rosario to a World Series. Obviously "luck" definitely played a role with those moves given they came with some risk. Sometimes trades like that could work and sometimes they don't. So if Atkins was a genius for signing KK and Belt last offseason, we could say AA was a genius for trading for Duvall, Soler and Rosario at the 2021 deadline. But yeah funny each were perceived different on this message board.

Yes there is a certain amount of luck involved if every member of your rotation stays healthy and makes 30+ starts. You can't guarantee that from season-to-season. Didn't I also give Atkins credit for building a fantastic rotation that was able to stay healthy and durable? I never said the Jays only made the Postseason because Atkins was lucky. Again you're putting words into my mouth in order to fit your narrative. Yes a big reason why the team was a borderline WC team last year was due to their starting rotation pitching very well and staying healthy. If they lost Gausman or Berrios for an extended period of time, wouldn't have been good. The pitching - both rotation and bullpen - carried this team on their shoulders and into the Postseason. Wasn't the bats lol.

Wouldn't surprise me at all regarding Kikuchi. Varsho is an easy player to root for. Glad to see him bouncing back after his disastrous 2023 season. Hopefully he makes everyone forget about Moreno and LGJ.

Jays bullpen should be fine even without Green. Pearson this season so far has looked fantastic.

You need to look in the mirror yourself man. Calm down. It's posters like you and Brownie who name call and insult others, insinuating that they're stupid and shouldn't talk baseball on this forum. Never saw posters like you both in over my 20 years on this board.

Happy to see you getting this excited on April 21st! Kikuchi is my sleeper pick for AL Cy Young. Think he gets 200+ K's. Glad to see Varsho swinging a hot bat right now. Looks like he's returned to form and should be good for 25-30 HR's.

You're second and not too far behind him IMO.

Lmao keep drinking the Kool aid. Leafs played fine maybe for 1.5 periods, but after it was all downhill.

You always take the blue pill and live in an illusion. Leafs winning the Stanley Cup in 2024!

You're a huge narcissist and one of the most insufferable posters on this board. I don't ever recall coming across a poster as annoying and insufferable as you since I joined this board in 2003.

LOL give me a break. You really need to go back and read my posts. I've given Atkins plenty of credit when it's due and also have been critical of him. I'm one of the more rational posters on this board.

The Leafs aren’t beating the Bruins haha. This team has no goaltending and defensively is vulnerable. Only way Leafs win a game is if they score 4-5 goals.

Leafs suck lmao

He's favourite now in Vegas for AL MVP. Bobby Witt Jr. is second favourite and Mike Trout is third favourite. I bet Bobby Witt Jr at 21 to 1 before the season. Now he's 5.50 to 1.

The issue is you have two extreme sides that are either really pro-Atkins front office or anti-Atkins front office on this board. When the Blue Jays win, you start to hear the pro-Atkins side getting all cocky crowning Y-Rod as a possible Cy Young contender, Garcia as a possible Mariano Rivera and IKF as such an amazing signing. All after just 20 games this season. Additionally, the pro-Atkins side does fail to recognize or acknowledge some of the teams glaring weaknesses, such as question marks in the lineup or the low ranking farm system. They are blue pilled into an illusion and believing what they want to believe. You'll never convince them otherwise or change their mind. They won't allow any criticism whatsoever of Atkins and this front office. When the Blue Jays lose, you do have some complainers on here or trolls in the GDT's that are way too negative and extreme in calling Atkins and this front office one of the worst, when in reality, Atkins and this front office have done a very good job over the last several years fielding a competitive team. Some of the criticism is ridiculous and they definitely do it to stir stuff up amongst the pro-Atkins group. Blue Jays can't win every game, but with this group it sounds like its all doom and gloom when the Blue Jays lose a game. Lastly, you have posters who are in the middle ground. They're rational in understanding some of the organizational flaws and acknowledge the strengths/weaknesses. They're not too extreme one way or the other, but are realistic when looking at the bigger picture. Always open for discussion without name-calling or insults. Unfortunately the pro-Atkins and anti-Atkins side have taken control of this message board, making some threads insufferable to read through which is likely turning off the posters who fit in this group and even new posters from joining the board.

Looking really forward to seeing what Y-Rod does in his second start. Would be something if he could be a solid mid-rotation starter for them!

Gotta collab with Ross Atkins on social media haha.

I'll go with Varsho

Haha only pulling your leg. Obviously he's a crazy fan or nut job.

He's getting e-transfers from Ross Atkins every week.

The computers don't care about feelings.

Should Verlander be activated for his start tonight? Against the Nats.

I want the Leafs to go as far as possible. Would be a great thing for the city and also for the local restaurants/bars. Leafs have a great offensive core with Matthews, Marner, and Nylander. One of the best in the league for sure. Sucks they haven't been able to take advantage of that during their prime years. Defensively and goaltending, this team doesn't have it to make a deep Playoff push. Could be wrong but every April it's Deja Vu with this squad. I think Boston as well is going to come out and take it another level especially after last year's Round One exit. Hard to be a Leafs fan when tickets are out of your price range pretty much every single game. Not spending close to $400-$500 for a pair of Green's or Purple's for a game + money for expensive food/drinks at the Scotia Arena. Was looking at getting a pair of tickets for Round One through the MLSE presale I had, and Green's were $850 for a pair. Unbelievable. Cheaper to fly down to the US to see a Leafs game. Regardless, hope the Leafs could make it far. If I lose the $20, no big deal. Happy Leafs win. If they lose, at least I won't be completely heartbroken haha.

Yup, but glad to see you now being more critical and questioning decisions made by this FO. Agree with a lot of your posts on here.

Brownie would call him an armchair GM and put him in his place!