It's official...Atkins did NOT survive the weekend and will likely be released in 10 days.
Andy MacPhail is right in one respect...there really is no horrible 1-year deal. No matter how much it costs, it's off the books and allows other free agents to be signed by the next season.
But the Atkins deal...it didn't look good from the beginning. You could have seen this outcome, to quote Artie Lange, coming up 5th Avenue in a cab. Atkins had never had great numbers away from Coors Field, his numbers had been in decline for four straight seasons and there were other bats available for, likely, less money. After the signing, I just kind of kept my fingers crossed that the scouts had seen something that they thought was fixable.
You should know my feelings on this for now...I wanted to fill the hole at first base from within with either Luke Scott or Nolan Reimold moving over there and/or letting some of the guys at AAA (Scott Moore, Rhyne Hughes, Michael Aubrey, Brandon Snyder) as the season moved on. If there's a silver lining, one of those guys will now get a shot as Wigginton has moved over to first and Moore seems to be in line to get the bulk of the starts at second base.
Ultimately, Atkins sucking had little affect on the standings; there is little doubt that the way 2010 has gone that the Orioles would still be the worst team in the American League. But at least we can move on and let other guys, including Jake Fox, take a shot.
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