Tampering, and Credit for Performance

[Just Regular]

Are we going to need Tampering rules for executives?    It'll be juicier if the Brewers and Mets line up on a trade anytime in 2022!

https://theathletic.com/2948503/2021/11/10/the-mets-real-target-remains-david-stearns-whoever-they-hire-as-gm-this-winter-sources/?source=emp_shared_article

One meta-question I have for Tony, or anyone who cares to opine, is how much has credit shifted the last ~15 years between Club and Player for the performance that gets on to the field?   Steve Cohen seems to care more about David Stearns than Max Scherzer.

When I was an Orioles Hangout lurker/newcomer circa mid-2000's, I have a pretty clear memory of a Tony Take that almost all credit or blame for player performance belongs to the player.   But that was around the time iPhones were invented, never mind the Rhapsodos, etc that inform Driveline, John Means's workshop and all the similar places.    I feel like a few offseasons ago Means did what he did (credit = Means) in part because the late Buck Orioles were bankrupt in that area.

Anyhoo, now we have the Dodgers pitching Evan Phillips with the season on the line and him doing okay that day.   To stretch it, I think I think Evan Phillips only gets outs against selected Braves in the NLCS because of the Dodgers intellectual capital.   They refine his breaking ball, give him an attack plan for 18 pitches to 3.5 batters, and one inning at a time runs are suppressed.   I imagine Andrew Friedman is content from an intellectual property viewpoint that Evan Phillips doesn't understand how or why this is effective.   He does at least have the coaching to carry into next year as he tries to crack someone's roster.

Some of why I feel the Adley Orioles may have some opportunity for a bigger leap whenever "maximizing MLB wins" becomes any kind of priority are these squishy kinds of gains feel like an untapped resource alongside the best players talent, marginal payroll dollars from $40M to $125M, etc, etc.