I agree with your main point. Python does a great job of replacing lots of tiny, chained scripts. Simple API calls with wget or curl have a place, but can spiral out of control quickly if you need to introduce any grain of control like with pagination, as an example.

Maintaining one Python app (or "script") can still adhere to the unix philosophy of simplicity but can bend some rules as far as monolithic design is concerned if you aren't careful.

It all boils down to whether you are introducing complexity or reducing it, IMHO.