From the very message you quoted: Of course they improved their role players. But they were upgrading their role players prior to his arrival too. That's how they were winning more games from 2005 to 2007 despite Yao and Tracy playing 40 fewer games. Upgrading role players has been something that the team has been consistently doing for a while. Unfortunately, it's being counteracted by health/ineffectiveness of their stars. Morey became the GM after that season. So basically, the more they've played without the stars, the better they've done, which isn't surprising. This is a trend that's been taking place since the stars first started getting injured.
To get back on topic, did anyone find that Hunsicker jumped ship at the right time? I know Pupura got to the WS the next year in a Barry Switzer kind of way, but our entire farm system was at a steady decline for several years already. I'm not even talking about players traded away, but simply less top prospects who succeeded. It's a shame minor leagues in baseball aren't as transparent as major league decisions. So it's hard to pin how much of it was on Gerry and how much on Drayton. I think I was just being a little defensive because of GARM and how people think Morey's not really all that because our lack of championships. I don't know, I just think Morey runs the team the "right way". And that lady luck, and lack of cap flexibility when Morey arrived, were more instrumental in preventing us from taking the next step. Well, even then I'd think one year does not make a trend. But whatever. If you choose to put Battier as CD's move(which I personally can't see because Battier is the anti-CD player), then you can indeed say we were started off on the right direction even then. I guess that's where we have to agree to disagree.
