How much leeway will we give Atkins?

[Frobby]

The day Garrett Atkins was signed, I compared his siging to last year's signing of Adam Eaton, just a warm body to hold a spot until Snyder or Bell was ready. Since then, it has become clear to me that the O's think he can be considerably more than that. Despite his three-year decline and his lousy numbers outside of Coors, I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt for a period of time and see what he can do. But for exactly how long?

My basic feeling is, he gets two months of the regular season. I'm not going to freak out if he's playing almost every day and hitting lousy in April, or into mid-May. But if May 31 rolls around and he's not producing, it's time to conclude that this gamble did not pay off, and either bench him or cut him.

Too long? Too short? What do you think?

[markdublya]

I think Memorial Day sounds about right.

[SilentJames]

SOunds about right to me. He shouldn't have much leeway, but even then it depends on who is performing in the minors.

[markdublya]

SOunds about right to me. He shouldn't have much leeway, but even then it depends on who is performing in the minors.

And where Wiggy is.

[NewMarketSean]

Yeah, end of May sounds about right. That gives Snyder time to prove himself in Norfolk and there is always Wigginton and Scott who could take his spot at 1B.

If Atkins is about to hit around .250 with some power...an OPS around 750, I think he stays.

[Sports Guy]

Well, it depends on many factors:

1) How are you defining not producing?

2) How are Bell and/or Snyder performing?

3) Are they open to playing Scott at first?

[Hank Scorpio]

If by "we" you mean the Hangout, about 34 minutes.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Depends on how bad. True suckitude will get people grumbling within four or five weeks. Mediocrity rather than awfulness will extend the grace period.

However, I'm more interested in how much leeway the O's give him, rather than us.

[ShaneDawg85]

The sentiment around here would indicate not long. But it will depend both on how he's doing, and how Snyder is doing at Norfolk. If it's June 1 and Atkins is down and out and Snyder is raking, then that might be the time to make the switch. But if the reverse comes true, or even if Snyder is raking but Atkins is also hitting well, we might have to wait longer. I would hope that if Atkins is hitting well then we would look to move him at the deadline, although I don't think he would fetch much or anyone would be interested even with a live bat.

I'm willing to give him till at least the beginning of June to see if he's got something. I think it's a fair amount of time and will give us a chance to evaluate Snyder as well, and then if it looks like the change should be made, do it.

[Hank Scorpio]

Well, it depends on many factors:

1) How are you defining not producing?

2) How are Bell and/or Snyder performing?

3) Are they open to playing Scott at first?

Agree with all of this.

[Sports Guy]

I will be surprised to see anything "drastic" happen to Atkins before July.

I bet if he has a 720-740ish OPS, he stays...That would be terrible but the Orioles will keep him.

[Orioles West]

Having watched the vast majority of his career, the O's are going to know right out of spring training if Mr. Atkins has regained confidence at the plate. And based on last year alone, waiting for him to get it back for an entire season doesn't translate well into a 'wait and see' scenario.

That said, I have a feeling he is going to bounce back and the change of teams will serve him well. A healthy, mechanically sound Garrett Atkins can still be good for a .280/20 HR/80+ RBI season, in my humble estimation. Which is pretty much what I think the Birds are looking for until one or more of their young corners are ready.

Again, when he struggles, it will not take a world class scout to discern a comeback season isn't in the cards. So, to answer the original question, I wouldn't wait beyond 60-days if he is trying to pull everything in the universe and swings at many bad pitches.

-Don

[scottbbfm]

I will be surprised to see anything "drastic" happen to Atkins before July.

I bet if he has a 720-740ish OPS, he stays...That would be terrible but the Orioles will keep him.

I think a mid May - Memorial day decision is about right. That's what was given to Pie.

I don't think you can put a certain statistic on it due to the [gasp!] small sample size - if he throws out a 1.100 OPS one week mid May and he's hit to the tune of a .630 OPS the rest of the time - I think he just bought himself some staying power

[NCRaven]

Mid-to-late May sounds right for me. I don't really care what Wigginton is doing, I don't think he's a much better option than Atkins as a firstbasemen. Likewise, I don't think that Luke Scott is a long-term solution at 1B and see no reason to move him there. If Snyder seems ready by then and Atkins is struggling, I wouldn't hesitate to make the move, just as we did with Reimold when Pie struggled in April-May last year. If Atkins flat out sucks and Snyder isn't deemed ready, then it doesn't really matter...Scott, Wigginton, Hughes, and Aubrey (if he makes it through waivers and we can keep him in the system) are all equally who cares options, IMO.

Side note, there does seem to be some disagreement over Pie's value within the organization. In it's most simply stated form, MacPhail is a fan and Trembley isn't. I think that the situation is really more complex than that, but it's how most here see it. With Luke Scott, there really doesn't seem to be any internal conflict. I haven't seen anything from MacPhail or nebulous "sources within the organization" that say anyone but fans and Scott himself believe that he's a starting first baseman. And Luke's conviction apparently developed after he looked at the roster, saw the names Markakis, Jones, Reimold and Pie and realized he was starting in front of any of those guys in the outfield. I really think this is a non-issue anywhere but the Hangout.

[Sports Guy]

I think a mid May - Memorial day decision is about right. That's what was given to Pie.

I don't think you can put a certain statistic on it due to the [gasp!] small sample size - if he throws out a 1.100 OPS one week mid May and he's hit to the tune of a .630 ERA the rest of the time - I think he just bought himself some staying power

Pie was really given until the end of April.

Atkins will be given more time than that...The Orioles are paying him a lot of money and believe they can turn him around...They aren't going to give up on that experiment early at all.

I think they will be happy with a 260/320/420 line for a while.