I never have had any problem with oWAR because as you say it's based on stats. Those stats don't create a perfect picture of who that player is/was but they're certainly close and reasonable. However, dWAR is a horse of another color as demonstrated by Lynn's minus WAR values.
Like you, I don't know how dWAR was calculated before the total zone system was set up, but it's apparent that BR is passing the pre-zone system off as being as accurate as the post-establishment of the system.
I'm not even disputing that Lynn was a great CF'er. I'm just asking people in our age group who we're supposed to believe - dWAR, or our own lyin' eyes?
It's appearing more and more to me that dWAR is extremely valuable in determining the defensive worth of a player as long as that player's worth coincides with what we already believe.