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Of course, the wise guys in the press box immediately started calling me “Mr. Irrelevant” after that. Earlier, I had written a column suggesting that Stroman would be advised to rein in his emotions on the mound, especially when his frustrations were aimed at the umpires as they might have long memories and might squeeze him in future starts. Stroman obviously took exception to the column and let it be known on a number of occasions.

That day he went off in the clubhouse, Romanin immediately went over to diffuse the situation. And he did so, very professionally — even suggesting that I might have taken too much of a confrontational stance with Stroman as the argument progressed. He didn’t take sides. Simply put, Romanin was very good at his job and greatly respected by the media.

So, the question for Atkins is: “How does laying off somebody such as Romanin, along with his colleagues Erik Grosman and Sue Mallabon — all good at their jobs and loyal Jays people to the core — help the Jays win more ball games?”

On the surface, the moves come across as petty, even mean-spirited, as with the case of visiting clubhouse manager Lenny Frejlich, one of the club’s few charter employees, who was also laid off. Atkins and president Mark Shapiro came to the Jays from the Indians following the 2015 season and have been accused of wanting to mold the clubhouse in their own image, turning the Jays into the Cleveland Indians North, so to speak, bringing in cronies and getting rid of as many “old guard” employees as possible, including Romanin, Frejlich, assistant athletic trainer Mike Frostad and head strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Joyner, none of whom actually make baseball decisions or hit home runs.