AA is the ultimate politician and that's exactly where he should take his career if he doesn't land another GM job. Who else could get away with making such empty promises as building a "sustainable winner" from the ground up by developing young power arms in the rotation, and then leaving 6 years later as a hero despite there being so many holes in the rotation?
The guy goes from answering fan mail to being handed one of the best career opportunities in all of majors... Taking over a team with such low expectations and having years to patiently build up prospect capital rather than being pushed to compete. Not to mention being allowed to trade the best pitcher in the game for prospects without much criticism. And unlike his predecessor, he's also given a lot more flexibility to hire more advisers/scouts and to spend more freely on the draft.
So what does he do when it comes time to complete? He targets guys like Dickey, Reyes, Josh Johnson and Bonifacio to name a few... proceeds to add zero depth to the rotation and crowns JPA as the catcher that will lead his staff. And when that fails he essentially sits on his hands the following year and does next to nothing to improve the club. Finally with his back against the wall and his job on the line, he makes a few nice moves along with a few relatively irresponsible ones and watches a team that was playing .500 ball after 100 games get hot and go on a nice run.
He's obviously done a pretty good job this year considering the circumstances he put himself into, but the process has been far from foolproof. Somehow though, he's got the masses deceived into thinking that he's "the hardest working GM in the game" and that his "ninja" moves are about to lead the team into a dynasty. Just like most politicians, he's got the media wrapped around his fingers... The other day he had the Bobcat slobbering all over his knob and thanking him endlessly for all the great interviews he's provided over the years (despite him dodging every question til the very last interview).
The silver lining however is that he finally bought his own BS and turned down a job that's turned his flabby ass into a hero because he felt like he's entitled to more.