Totally Classic, diderot. Totally.
The great coaches (and GMs) just win, or at least greatly exceed expectations. As fans we admire “systems,” but systems don’t win, of and by themselves.
A story:
Back when I was a HS basketball coach I attended clinics every year. There, a bunch of college coaches collected their Nike check and shared “secrets” with us. My favorites were Jerry Tarkanian and Abe Lemon, not because they shared revelatory Knowledge with us, but that they admitted there was likely no such thing. They just coached the same stuff better than the next guy.
Jim Boeheim, of Syracuse U., once talked to us about the intricacies of the 2-3 zone defense. Whoever followed him said that everybody else ran a 2-3 like this, and drew 5 X’s on the overhead. He then said Syracuse ran a 2-3 that looked like this, and drew 5 GIANT X’s on the screen. We all laughed, knowing Boeheim’s love for size and reach in his line-up. It wasn’t so Gnostic, after all, and even a bunch of HS coaches got that.
Another time, Auburn coach Sonny Smith talked about his “man behind the zone“ philosophy vs. zone defenses. The guy following him pointed out that the player Smith had running the baseline, with a behind the zone philosophy, was Charles Barkley.
Philosophy is great, but great Players still make the difference.
Frank Robinson was not a great glove in RF. Don Buford was not a great glove in LF. Paul Blair, of course, won a bunch of CF GG’s.
Despite the dweeby gloves in the corner OF spots, those Earl W. Oriole teams weren’t bad.
Gnosticism is a neat thing to claim. Getting players is a better thing to do.
In one of the Dipoto quotes, he essentially says that he likes pitchers who strike people out but don’t walk people. Damn. Those dinosaur Branch Rickeys never figured that one out.
Dipoto has delivered Segura, Haniger, Gamel and Leake. Plus whoever I missed.
He gave up some guys, too.
Now just go win, or go the way of Jack Z. 2 years is not enough to decide. But after 3, you start to get a taste for the direction you are going.