Knowing JD Drew had a great OBP in '04, DePodesta signed him. Sabermetricians just don't even care about injury risks, as long as they have the great stats. Moneyball just doesn't work for a market like Los Angeles. DePodesta tried it, but it didn't work. But then again, who knows? If he was given another chance, maybe the Dodgers would've been like the A's...in a big market.
Sure, the Dodgers won the division in '04, but DePo destroyed Dan Evans' team. The Dodgers had a record of 60-42 before trading LoDuca. After that trade, they were 33-27. He messed up the chemistry. But at the same time, it was a good thing trading an aging catcher for some young talent.
He dismantled a 1st place team and replaced it with a pretty good team (of course, it was a very strange mixture). The '05 team suffered from nagging injuries. But it doesn't mean DePo can make that as an excuse. He just totally fell in love with his idol's (Billy Beane) style. The only problem is, the Dodgers are in Los Angeles.
But he did a pretty damn good job of not re-signing players like Jose Lima, Steve Finley, and Adrian Beltre (although I believe he will have better numbers next year).