Now we can take Sandy's approach
I was thinking the same thing last night, and I'd like to go on record now as saying that for me the acquisition of Jesus Montero, even though he is right-handed, has brought me much closer to Sandy's point of view. That's not to say that I'd be against signing Fielder now. But I feel much more comfortable going forward with what we have. My concern was the pressure on Smoak to carry the MOTO load. Now, not only did Jack get him help -- we all expected that -- but he gave him a true MOTO partner in crime, another wet-behind-the-ears stud in the making, an Hakeem Alajuwan to his Ralph Sampson. If one don't get ya on a given night, the other one will kind of thing. It takes the pressure off but in a completely different way than adding Fielder. It remains to be seen in historical terms how good these two will be, but the addition of two young studs like this at the same time in the middle of the order makes me think of Canseco and McGwire (minus the steroids, of course).
And even though the cost in prospects was not cheap at all, to think that Jack accomplished this without using his "when I go to them with the right deal the payroll will be made available" card. He probably only has one of those cards in the bank. Well, it's still there if/when needed. If you sign Fielder, great. We're soon to be a bona fide SCARY offense. If you don't sign Fielder and play the card another year, well, we're still developing a lineup that's approaching average now and growing.
Jack didn't just get a premium bat that wasn't an aging vet. He didn't just get a premium bat in the middle of his career. He got one that's just getting started, one with six years of control, one that almost everyone agrees is destined to be one of the top bats in MLB. That's WAY better than I was expecting if we missed on Fielder.
So Sandy, props to you. I've always respected your argument. Jack may have just made you a winner.