Blue Jays GM is Bummed He Forgot to Tell Manager Not to Bench Vlad Jr. on National Holidays
By Will Fowler
There's not much to be happy about if you're a Toronto Blue Jays fan in 2019.
Being eight games under .500 in mid-May while being written off as the fourth-best team in your division isn't exactly something that sparks optimism, nor will it fill up Rogers Centre night in, night out.
Luckily for the Jays, they experienced a glimmer of excitement a week ago when Vlad Guerrero Jr., MLB's top prospect and the apparent savior of baseball in Toronto, had a monster week, subsequently earning American League Player of the Week honors.
A couple of rising stars.
— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2019
#VladJr and @JBell_19 earn Player of the Week honors.
(MLB x @wbmasonco) pic.twitter.com/kSxGdJNJFd
On a hot streak and with a national holiday upcoming, what does Jays management decide to do? Bench him.
Wait, what?
Yes -- after the best stretch of his young career, the Blue Jays came up with the totally rational decision to give him a day off. It just so happened that day was Victoria Day, a Canadian national holiday that gives Canadians the day off of work and school.
And you bet the fans that decided to spend their Victoria Day at Rogers Centre to watch Vlad Jr. were not pleased. It wasn't GM Ross Atkins' fault, though! He was just as bummed out as you that he forgot to warn new manager Charlie Montoyo not to do...exactly that.
Ross Atkins on yesterday's decision to rest Vlad Jr. on a national holiday #BlueJays
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 21, 2019
"The one thing I regret is in all of the things that we've talked about with Charlie (Montoyo) I had not talked to him about the importance of Victoria Day."
Of course, the Red Sox won the game going away anyway, notching a 12-2 victory.
On the bright side, Toronto, at least the Raptors are still in the playoffs.