Melvin made plenty of those type of signings, though. In 2008, the big signings were an over-the-hill Trevor Hoffman and mediocre Braden Looper. He also made depth signings like Trot Nixon, Mike Lamb, Jorge Julio and, yes, Craig Counsell. In 2011, other than the big money deal on Aramis Ramirez, his signings included Nori Aoki, Brooks Conrad, Alex Gonzalez, Cesar Izturis and Corey Patterson. If anything, Melvin's legacy is making a few splashy moves, but otherwise he operated in much the same way that Stearns is now.