In addition to the comments already made, I think Ryan has enough ambivalence about advanced stats to find it difficult to pursue such a player if it's going to be his only one. It's not that he's not smart enough to know FIP, xFIP, BABIP, HR/FB and so forth. It's that he factors in, "how the heck am I going to sell this guy to the ticket-buying fan base? They're just going to see the 5.89." I give credit to Ryan that he'd pursue such a player if he thought it would be a difference maker, damn the PR. But rarely can you separate out such factors so neatly. The Cardinals are in a different place, for making a deal like that one.