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I think their success is, in part, to having that empirical view of roles - to simply try to get the best value from each guy. Thus, a starter who had won 20 games, but with endurance problems that may have been more mental than physical (from drinking?) is turned into a closer that simply dominates - Dennis Eckersley. A reliever/spot starter thought to be a bit "soft" is turned into a dominating starter - Dave Stewart. The list obviously goes on. Mike Moore. Bob Welch. Chris Carpenter. Adam Wainwright. Ryan Franklin. Again and again those guys took marginal pitchers and turned them into winners. In some cases it was subtle (taking a guy forced to be a #1 starter and franchise savior and simply making him a #3 - Moore). In the case of Eckersley it was dramatic (Focus on one inning and one inning only - don't go three times through a lineup and don't inherit runners - just get three outs). Likewise, with Stewart (four straight years of 20-win seasons after being RELEASED by the Phillies).
If JackZ, Eric Wedge, and Carl Willis can start doing asset recovery at that level, we'll do fine. The success of Aardsma says that JackZ does have an eye for value. The scouts view of him was that he was toast. Not so. I like the spaghetti-method when executed by guys who can see the underlying talent AND the ability to put guys into positions and environments that allow them to be successful. Wilhelmsen and Delabar were found - now the development is more Wedge and Willis's bailiwick. Delabar was used to get something (even if it didn't work) and Wilhelmsen is still ours - trying to see where he might be most useful (and most comfortable) is the essence of asset management.
In this regard, the seemingly conflicting reports of what they're doing (stretching him out, getting steady work, etc.) are consistent with the idea that they don't know yet what is going to work. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like Morrow (I think Tom is hungrier and more flexible, so I doubt it will), but, again hopefully, they won't be forced into a premature decision and can do the testing and analysis required to get the kind of results LaRussa and Duncan got.