Is a train wreck actualized in the moment the cars leave the rails? Does it not count until it collides with something weighty or consequential? Or does it begin at the moment the speed and friction surpass a point of no return, recognized or not by the conductor, passengers, or passersby?
The Jack Zduriencik Era didn’t end in 2010, with the most disappointing season in franchise history and the bungled handling of the Josh Lueke trade, nor in the 2012-2013 offseason, when he dealt away John Jaso, nor even the following winter, when the Seattle Times published Geoff Baker’s vivisection of the franchise, featuring wroth from former manager Eric Wedge, pitching coach Rick Adair, top international scouts Bob Engle and Patrick Guerrero, and the now-infamous paragraph quotation from one-time Assistant GM Tony Blengino:
Blengino said he prepared the [GM job application] package because he was versed in the hot trend of using advanced stats for team decisions.