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(sorry for the length)
No offense taken at all, Matt.  As to your contention I don't have a sports fan's soul ...
In 1971 the little old lady next door showed me a baseball signed by the Atlanta Braves, including Hank Aaron.  At 9 years of age I thought that was so utterly cool that Atlanta immediately became *MY* team, and I have rooted for them for 40 years.  From 1971 through 1990 Atlanta went to the playoffs once.  One playoff trip, (they were swept in 3 games), in a 20-year span.  During the '70s they had one good season, ('74 - winning 88, but finished 3rd, 14 games back).  During the early '80s, they had two good years, (their one playoff trip in '82 and finishing 3 games back in '83). 
From my youth, I still remember fondly Hank Aaron and Dusty Baker and Phil Neikro.  I remember that '82 club starting the season 13-0 and falling to 13-5.  I remember being 9 games up in July, only to go on an 11-game losing streak to fall a couple games back in August.  I remember living and dying with each game that magical playoff season.  But, I also remember rooting my heart out not only for Dale Murphy and Bob Horner - the home grown stars -- but also for Glenn Hubbard and Rafael Ramirez and Brett Butler and Biff Pocoroba.  I remember Neikro and Rick Mahler and Pascual Perez and Gene Garber.
Who do I most easily forget?  The mercenaries.  Chris Chambliss was the 1B for that '82 team, but I had to go look it up.  I had completely forgotten he was ever a Brave.  In my memory, he's a Yankee.  He always will be.  I remember the lineup -- not just the stars -- of the players that I grew up with and grew fond of -- not just because they could post an .800 OPS.  Glenn Hubbard will always be one of my favorite Braves, though anyone other than an Atlanta fan would most likely go - "Who?"
And then, finally, in the '90s, my loyalty was rewarded and my beloved Braves won the division 14 times. That first playoff trip in 1991 was magical.  But, when I think about that first winning team, Terry Pendleton isn't the guy that comes to mind first, even though he won the MVP that year.  You see, Pendleton, to me, is still a Cardinal.  David Justice and Ron Gant are the guys I remember.  I remember the platoon of Raffy Belliard and Jeff Blauser at short.  I remember Mark Lemke going absolutely nuts at the plate in the World Series against the Twinkies, (the other worst-to-first story from the '91 season). I remember Glavine and Smoltz ... but I also remember Avery, (now long forgotten by non-Braves' fans).
While I clearly remember the "Sid Slid" play that beat Pittsburgh, I don't really remember Bream as a Brave.  He wasn't a Brave.  He was a Pirate who happened to be playing for the Braves in 1991.  And later on, when the Braves won the '95 World Series, (funny the intersection of '95 in our personal baseball paths), I remember Javy Lopez and Ryan Klesko and Chipper Jones and Lemke and Blauser.  I know that Fred McGriff was part of that team, an important part.  But, Crime Dog was still a Padre who happened to be playing for the Braves. 
Over time, yes I eventually began thinking of Maddux as a Brave.  But not in the first couple of years.  Oh, I certainly appreciated his talent from day one.  But, I pulled harder for Glavine and Smoltz and Avery and Wohlers and Bedrosian.  THEY were "true" Atlanta Braves.
I understand that in the FA era, teams cannot always build completely from within.  I don't fault or blame the clubs for doing what is necessary to win.  But, when you talk about the "soul" of a baseball fan, I think you open the door to a very important question.  If winning is all that matters - and winning immediately - why not just root for the Yankees?  Or, why not just change your allegiance on an annual basis to root for whichever franchise spent the most money?
If the Mariners were sold tomorrow - and the new owners traded away everyone on the current roster tomorrow - and replaced it with a lineup of (say): VMart, Fielder, Uggla, ARAM, Peralta, Crawford, Bourn, Beltran and Vlad?  Even if that lineup were to win the West ... would you really be rooting for the Mariners?
In truth, my position is that from a "pragmatic" standpoint that the Fielder route is detrimental to the team getting better - both in the long run and short.  I don't believe the myth that IMPORTED star hitters turn franchises around.  I don't believe the myth that one *must* spend $140 million to compete (being that Texas spent less than $60 in 2010 as did Tampa this year). But, I understand why I am mostly on an island in those beliefs.  And I'm okay with that.
But, IMHO, a team that one roots for *MUST* be more than simply who happens to be wearing a certain colored jersey.  Before Free Agency it was simple for fans.  Nearly every player of note stayed put for most of their careers.  The Babe Ruth to NY trade was the exception to the rule.  Things have changed.  But, I believe the soul of a team remains intimately tied to the players that make their FIRST real impact in baseball as a part of.  It takes many, many years elsewhere to erase those first memories of greatness.
Atlanta has one of those exceptions in Greg Maddux.  He will be remembered by all as a Brave.  But what about Griffey?  Or Unit?  Or AROD?  Unit got his ring in Arizona.  But do Mariner fans think of him as a Diamondback or a Mariner?  In the ultimate irony, AROD, who for a time was viewed as perhaps the best player of his generation, will hardly be anything more than an expensive footnote in the pantheon of Yankee talent.  JETER -- RIVERA -- POSADA -- those names will live forever among Yankee greatness.  Guys like AROD and Teixeira will be in a different, lesser class of Yankee.  Like Giambi or Damon or Sheffield.
That bind of player to franchise *IS* the largest part of the soul of baseball and baseball fans.  The reason that Yankee fans are looked down upon is not just because the Yankees are good or that they win too much.  That's part of it, but not the main part.  Fans of other clubs hate the Yankees because the Yankees go out and simply buy so much of their talent off the shelf.  Too many Yankees are not Yankees.  They are imported mercenaries who displayed no loyalty to whichever franchises actually gave them their first break. 
I don't buy into the myth that unless you're spending $140 million you aren't trying to compete.  I believe there are any number of routes to winning that do not require dynamic and exciting FA acquisitions.  In fact, I believe that historically, bad franchises are more apt to make the mistake of spending too much money on imported talent, (see the Washington Nationals as exhibit one), which not only don't help them in the short run - it makes them less competitive in the long run. 
I believe that the reality too often is that fans don't actually want their clubs to actually compete.  They want their clubs to give the *APPEARANCE* of trying.  Adding Sexson and Beltre gave the appearance of trying to compete.  It didn't help the club be competitive short or long term.  Adding Bedard gave the appearance of the club trying to compete.  It didn't help the club be competitive short or long term.  Adding Cliff Lee gave the appearance of trying to compete.  It certainly didn't help the club short term.  With the acquisition of Smoak, the result long term remains clouded.
Spending money and "trying to win" are not synonymous.  IMO, only Yankee fans and their ilk believe that.
I believe the Seattle organization lost its "soul" in the aftermath of the golden age.  They built a team from within that won and created excitement.  But, then they gradually sold off those home grown stars and attempted to keep on winning with imported talent.  You see, I believe a large part of the reason that Seattle fans as a group are so desperate for imported talent is that they have largely forgotten what it is like to have a number of guys you have followed from their first day in the majors.
Felix is beloved in Seattle.  And I believe Seattle fans *mistakenly* believe that this is because he is super-talented.  They believe that they will love an imported super-talented player just as much.  They won't.  At least, not until after the import has been around for 4 or 5 years.  Felix is loved in large part because he is *pure* Mariner.  Washburn was running a 2.64 ERA in 2009 and most fans were thrilled to be rid of him.  Aardsma was never fully excepted as a Mariner, but many went coo-coo for coco-puffs over Doug Fister.
Why is it that Seattle fans - (more than just you, Matt) - have such a strong urge for immediate action by management?  IMO, it is not because the club has been bad.  It is not because they haven't been trying.  (Sexson, Beltre, Bedard and Cliff Lee were clearly attempts at "trying" to win).  It is because the club stopped developing everyday talent.  The club lost its soul.  Pitchers aren't quite the same.  They don't play every day.  So, there is a different dynamic at work.
From 2005-2009, the only internal every day players that were "home grown" were YuBet and Lopez.  Neither was anything special - and in fact, both were viewed as being kind of lazy.  Ichiro was the other mostly pure Mariner, (though his path also makes him unique).  The club had a soul - Unit, Moyer, Griffey, AROD, Edgar, Dan Wilson.  They swapped them out for (awhile) with equal talent (in the aggregate).  But, Edgar was the last of the players that Mariner fans could view as a true Mariner.
While I believe pragmatically that Fielder will likely be a detriment to rebuilding the Mariner franchise, I concede that isn't an absolute.  But, I do believe that the soul of a franchise lies with the players that it develops and brings into the public eye for the first time.  Where a player has his first real success is important.  Why is it always the '95 season that is spoken of rather than the 116 win 2001 season?  Seattle came back from a 2-1 division series deficit to beat the Tribe.  Why isn't Aaron Sele who went 15-5 with a 3.60 ERA in 2001 remembered fondly and routinely?
I believe the willingness to dismiss the Mariners as a team to root for if they don't make a "big move" is a direct result of the systemic problem of not developing any home grown talent.  There is no "soul" of the team and there hasn't been one in a long time.  In a situation like that, the only thing left is winning.
I believe that letting Yuni and Lopez go were both choices to improve the team and try to win.  But I also believe that this made the task of constructing a "heart" for the Mariners a task that would take longer to accomplish.  The job needed to start around 2002, but instead wasn't even begun until 2009.  The club actually lucked into a pair of winning seasons since the collapse of 2004.  But, will those rosters be remembered 10 years from now?  Oh, the final game of 2009 with the Griffey celebration will come to mind.  But, what about the players? 
Are there going to be fond memories of 2007 with soft sighs about Jose Vidro or Jose Guillen or Miguel Batista?  What about the great seasons for Washburn and Branyan in 2009?  I believe Dan Wilson will end up being a guy Seattle fans talk about years down the line.  I believe Branyan and Jose Guillen will vanish into the mist of forgotten nomads who opted to take up residence in the Great Northwest for a year or two.
You say I have no sports fan soul.  I chuckle and say, you are not seeing me.  You are seeing your reflection.  But this is not your fault.  The short-sightedness of the Mariner ownership ripped the soul out of the team almost a decade ago.  I do not believe a fan simply roots for a uniform.  I believe fans NEED players they have grown to know over the years. 
I believe that you are so starved for a team with an actual soul that you are willing to spend anything to get it.  But a soul cannot be bought.  That's the whole point.  AROD could never be the soul of Texas or of the Yankees, (if the Yankees indeed do have a soul). 
I believe with Ackley and Smoak and Carp and Seager that the Mariners might just be finally rekindling the soul of a real team.  But, I believe this is the most fragile of moments for this franchise.  I believe revisiting the very methods that ripped the soul from the team could very well extinguish this ember.
But maybe our definitions are just different.  Me?  I would prefer to root for a team of Glenn Hubbards and Rick Mahlers and Biff Pocarobas and suffer through losing seasons than watch a team winning 100 each year of high paid mercenaries.  I rooted for Chipper and Andruw and Glavine and Smoltz and accepted the Sheffields that passed through while they were there. 
But if all that mattered was winning, I could've easily become a Yankees fan.  A few years after seeing that Hank Aaron baseball and becoming a Braves fan, my mother told me that she had been a Yankees fan - and then she showed me a ball that she had signed by the '61 Yankees, (Mantle was her idol).  If I had seen that Yankee baseball first, I likely would have become a Yankees fan.  But I had made my choice and never changed my allegience.  The Yankees may have won more World Series titles.  But I am glad I made the choice I did.  I believe it has given me a better baseball soul.