AA was a gunslinger who wanted autonomy. The Jays, being a budget team for many many years, wanted to play it safe. So they pivoted. Even after AA and his bold moves saved the franchise in a lot of ways. The Jays circa 2012-2016 were some of my favourite versions of this team. Hitting lots of bombs and had a ton of characters. The 2013 trade with the Marlins blew up spectacularly but you cant deny the hype heading into that season. And then we all loved to hate Josh Johnson. And then all loved to love Bhuerle. So it was kind of a wild ride.
Atkins was gifted Vladdy as a prospect and hit a homerun with Bo. So the foundation was set to see what he could do. But his smarter than everyone in the room attitude rubs me the wrong way. And having 0 playoff wins also rubs me the wrong way(2016 was AA's team still).
I personally romanticize AA in a lot of ways and there's definitely a recency bias when it comes to Atkins. But one has to wonder what a gunslinger could do with a team with a foundation like the Jays.
|