A question: Is Jerry DiPoto so enamored of his philosophy that he values implementing it as much or more than he does getting players with the kind of talent that separates his team from the pack?
Obviously, put this starkly, the answer is no. Still, I can't help but wonder if his attitude of "this guy fits our philosophy and we can make him marginally more productive here" doesn't fog up his valuations of players. You can field a team where 20 of your 25 guys fit your philosophy, but if your goal is to win the division and make it to the World Series, you'd better have the talent to match up with the best teams. Maybe your philosophy will take you from a .500 team to a .510 team, but only talent will take you to a .575 team.
And then, if you focus on philosophy but let your guys run the bases like morons, what good is your philosophy. If you focus on control the zone, but your guys only control the zone for the first month or two of the season, what good is it? If you're focused on your philosophy but you're left after the season saying, "We need to focus more on conditioning (because of a slew of injuries), has your laser-focus on your philosophy kept you from needed focus on certain fundamental aspects of GM-ing?
Me, I'd prefer less emphasis on philosophy and more emphasis on getting the sort of help other teams got at the trade deadline.
This is not to say philosophy is unimportant. But we all know the kind of guy who's head is in the theoretical but his practical value doesn't match his supposed wisdom. (I say that as someone who might be described similarly!)
Gimme a guy who succeeds on the street as opposed to a guy who can pontificate from a podium.
P.S. - Re: Gnosticism, are we talking full-blown Nag Hammadi stuff or the incipient strains combatted often in the New Testament epistles? Hah! The Illuminati of the times held themselves aloof from the crowd, thinking their musings superior to themes the average man can grasp. In the first-century Roman Empire their kind was pervasive and quite popular. Though they attempted to co-opt Jesus and early Christianity for their empty philosophy, Paul confronts the Corinthian church with the stark differences between his self-sacrificing ministry commisioned on the road to Damascus and their self-aggrandizing pomposity.
"Have Philosophy, Will Travel" doesn't stack up against "Will Lay Down My Life For You."