TORONTO — There were occasional moments of transparency from Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro when the Blue Jays’ top executives discussed the state of the team Wednesday.

Speaking from the media conference room at Rogers Centre, Shapiro acknowledged the frustration of a last-place AL East finish while also sharing how happy he is to still see so many Blue Jays fans when he’s out walking his dog.

Atkins spoke about his disappointment in himself and the stress he feels when he thinks about where the season went wrong. “I know no one cares,” he said. Then he added: “I don’t mean that in an insensitive way. I wouldn’t care either, right?” 

But when other topics came up, they were deliberately vague. There’s little to be gained by detailing for the competition exactly how much they can spend, for instance. And both executives clearly decided not to wade too deeply into the topic of the work stoppage many are expecting this off-season.

Yet even if Atkins and Shapiro aren’t inclined to say what they really know and think about the possibility of a lockout beginning Dec. 1, they offered enough hints that those of us on the outside can still read between the lines and make some educated guesses about how the Blue Jays will approach this unusual off-season.

First, it’s notable that Atkins said the Blue Jays........

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