With the exceptions of a few misguided, knee-jerk fans, they seem to have accepted his 6-5-and-under roster for what it is: short and athletically challenged.
In Cleveland, James routinely carried overmatched, under-talented rosters much further than was reasonable.
And with limited rehearsal time, the City Opera chorus and orchestra performed impressively under a roster of able conductors.
During his tenure he has performed in 115 different operas under a roster of conductors ranging from some now-forgotten beat-keepers to giants like Dmitri Mitropoulos, Karl Bohm, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein and, of course, James Levine.
It was meant to help launch the new artists under the roster, like Stat Quo, Cashis and Bobby Creekwater.
Idzik, who will report directly to the team owner Woody Johnson, will also work closely with Ryan, who had significant input on roster construction under Tannenbaum.
His closeness, his breathiness, his air of restless urgency and forced cheer, his old-fashioned suit and the folder of papers tucked under his arm like roster sheets all came into focus: he was a coach, and Richard was about to kick the winning field goal, do the high-difficulty dive, strike out the heart of the batting order with the bases already loaded.
In the beginning, Zwirner's program was fairly radical and rigorous, with a roster of under-recognized, experimental artists, such as the film and video artists Stan Douglas and Diana Thater and the installation artist Jason Rhoades.
Under Armour's roster of paid endorsers includes the skier Lindsey Vonn, the quarterback Tom Brady, and the duck dynast Willie Robertson.
After all, the Devils must fit their entire roster under a cap of about $59.4 million this season, and the team undertook an extensive cost-benefit analysis.
He is in his third year as manager, and in his first full season with a $200 million roster under new ownership.
