I'd say his FA track record was mixed. Sandoval and Ramirez aren't great, and Castillo is a bust. But prior to their WS title he signed Ross, Uehara, Victorino, Napoli, Dempster, Gomes etc... to smart short term deals and they made all the difference. Not sure why he got away from that type of move in favour of the splashy high-risk signing, especially after having so much success with the smaller deal.