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You have directors, who are Mariners fans.  Chris Larson and Howard Lincoln control 80 percent of the votes, and go to most of the games.  The rest of them are in cahoots as well.
There are things they are sure to like to see:
1. A GM should make them look good, by being productive with the resources that he has, rather than always burning Larson and Nintendo and the minor shareholders for more money and then losing anyway.  
Bavasi's famous statement was "The biggest names, the names the fans will be thinking of, those are the names we will be going after in the off season" or something like that.
This kind of statement puts the pressure on the board to sell the coming season, rather than on the GM.  And really, there was more pressure on the B.O.D. back then.  Remember all of the blogging about Ho'ard hiding the payroll in his mattress?  Well, the payroll hasn't changed at all, inflation notwithstanding, and everyone, except Geoff Baker, has stopped talking bad about the board.
Z sells the next season by telling fans that changes are coming from the minor leagues.  This means that he is inviting fans to believe in his scouting, rather than the payroll to field a winning team.
It is necessary, when selling a team, or a player, to believe that that player has some sort of superior edge that will help in competition.  Bavasi sold the payroll as a signature weapon, while Z sells his own skills, just like Pat Gillick did.  It is never good policy to make your bosses look bad or manipulate them in public.
Now, regarding star prospects.  Here, we had Adam Jones, who made a splash in September 2007, and got the fans legitimately excited.  He was a cheap, club controlled player, that people paid to see.  The speedy five tool outfielder, the next Carlos Beltran, and other accolades.  He was the kind of guy that the board must have loved, because he took pressure off of them to pay top dollar for a center fielder with similar skills.  With the benefit of hindsight, we can talk extra bad about this trade, because Adam Jones has actually lived up to a little bit of this hype, and the M's haven't had a good center fielder since he left.
2. A GM should have a coherent vision to sell to the board and the fanbase.
Bavasi's vision was to make the biggest splash he could every off season, and upgrade immediate needs with what was available at the time.
Need a catcher?  Draft Jeff Clement No. 1.  Who cares that he won't be ready for years, even if he does work out.
Need a pitcher?  Pay whatever it takes to get the deal done.
Bavasi came across to me as shrill and reactionary.  He did not have any long term modus operandi.
Now, look at Z.  He does nothing but claim that his scouting will pay off in the end.  He only makes modest signings, he hypes all of his prospects in every interview, and generally preaches sustained success through superior baseball acumen.  This might not actually ever happen, but Z sells it, and he has a lot of capital with Ackley and Pineda being the future stars of the club.
This means that Z may have conditioned fans to watch a losing season, even before it starts, because he is selling something interesting, with promise for long term potential.
If Z were to deviate from his plan by trading all of his prospects for one big splash, then it would unsettle the fan base.  "If Gio doesn't work out, then what Z" we would all ask.  As it is, Z is set to string us along for years, fielding a team of 25 year olds, and showing that the tease is oftentimes better than the real thing.
The Red Sox are the real thing.  They have a great ballclub.  Are Red Sox fans happy?  Yankees too.  Those fans aren't happy, because their shot was better last year than it is next year.  Us, we can't grouse.  We haven't even seen Taijuan yet.