Jul 13, 2022 • 59 min ago • 4 min read • 48 Comments Manager Charlie Montoyo #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on before the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 7, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

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Charlie Montoyo didn’t miss an out at first base with his leg in a routine major league game.

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He didn’t untie the strings in Vlad Guerrero’s glove, nor was he personally responsible for Hyun-Jin Ryu’s injury. And he certainly wasn’t responsible for Yusei Kikuchi’s crooked arm or the large contract it took to get him here. However, Montoyo was seen as expendable and thus a scapegoat, a path that had been paved for weeks by the Blue Jays front office and ended in inglorious fashion with his firing on Wednesday afternoon.

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“This is a collective setback and it starts with me,” said general manager Ross Atkins, taking the polite route most sports bosses prefer when tying a box with their coach or manager. “I really wanted to do this project with Charlie. I am very disappointed with where we are. I think we can play better as a team.

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To take the GM at his word, then, the collective rebound starts with Atkins himself and what the Jays front office can do to shore up the lineup weaknesses that have led to the team’s recent slide. And it also starts with the players, the ones we’ve spoken to over the last 10 days admit to a man that there has been a level of inadequacy. “I think (Firing Montoyo) is an understanding that we’re not where we expected to be,” pitcher David Phelps said before Wednesday’s game against the Phillies. “As a group of players, we know what is expected of us and we know we haven’t achieved it. “A lot of self-reflection is needed and time will tell. But at the same time, it’s a new beginning.” This new beginning will see the Jays under the management of John Schneider, the accomplished bench coach who has managed stars like Guerrero, Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio at multiple levels in the minor leagues.

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Montoyo, who leaves with a 236-236 record and a contract through 2023, was the scapegoat. What happens next will define a group that was expected to be much better than a 46-42 record at the time of the coach’s firing. Hired in October 2018, Montoyo was a finalist for AL Manager of the Year in 2020 and did an admirable job guiding the team through two seasons in which the Jays were sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 91-win season in 2021, in which the Jays narrowly finished one game short of the playoffs, earned him a contract extension through 2023. The move to finally get rid of him (mercy?) became official on Wednesday, given that Montoyo has been left twisting in the wind for weeks. Atkins acknowledged that from the shooting chair, saying the decision wasn’t made lightly — or quickly.

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“It didn’t take 24 hours to complete,” Atkins said. “There was a lot of thought. Whether those days turn into weeks is not important. But painstaking thought was given.” It was Atkins’ way of dealing with the sensitive timing, two days after Montoyo and his coaching staff traveled to Virginia for the funeral of 17-year-old Julia Budzinski, daughter of pitching coach Mark, who is still with his family who mourns. . “Out of respect to Charlie, once you make the decision, whatever the circumstances, it’s what’s best for the individual and the team,” Atkins said of the difficult times at the club over the past 10 days. Spending time with Montoyo on the recent 1-6 road trip through Oakland and Seattle, you could see in the demeanor of the now-former manager that he could feel it coming.

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His team was scrambling and dog-tired after playing 18 games in 17 days, all while trying to deal with the emotional punch of Budzinski’s ordeal. Through it all, there was a sense of impending doom. As for the timing of the change, doing it before a four-game series with the lowly Kansas City Royals coming to town — an already poor team with 10 players back due to Canada’s COVID-19 regulations — it can’t hurt. A successful weekend would put Schneider on the road and add some momentum to the MLB All-Star Break. But what’s next, with the trade deadline now two weeks away and changing? Perhaps, interestingly, Atkins refused to buy the popular view that the team needed help to be competitive.

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“Good teams win,” Atkins said. “It’s not necessarily good throws and good bulls. You look at the history of the game and good teams win championships.” Meanwhile, if Montoyo could feel the ax ready to swing, you better believe the players did too. Let’s just say that to the many players we spoke to – both on and off the disc – there was no surprise. The transparency of what has happened around the team in recent weeks has been clear. “We as players know things could be better, things have to be better,” center fielder George Springer said. “We understand what we can all do. It hasn’t been seen yet and that’s the disappointing part. “At the end of the day, we’re still in a really good spot. If we can get back to doing the little things – not looking at numbers and stats and just enjoying the game and playing with a sense of urgency, I like our chances.”

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