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I don't really disagree with you on the general topics of leadership, mentorship, philosophy of management, etc. I'm just not sure how applicable your examples from the Navy are to the particular dynamics of a professional baseball team. We're talking about two completely different types of organizations with completely dissimilar goals and objectives. The main point of comparison is that both are collections of humans.To get more specific with my objection, I would point out that the relationship of a CPO to an E-2 or E-3 level seaman is completely different than the relationship of Raul to any one of his teammates.
I'm willing to stipulate that there is probably some value to having older, more experienced players on a team when you're going through a youth movement. I'm just questioning how much it's really worth. Certainly, the results aren't great both from a team perspective and the perspective of some of the key younger players such as Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders, and Jesus Montero. But maybe if Raul had been here last year, his veteran presence would have made all the difference with those guys.
I guess what I really don't understand is what the positive difference is that you're pointing to? This team is not good. By definition, that has everything to do with the performance of the players. They weren't good last year and they aren't good this year. Where is the difference that Raul's veteran presence has made?