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They got to 90+ wins that way, and paid Pudge Rodriguez about 20% of that total to help out, provide some offense, and keep a pitching staff on the right track.
He was 100% worth it.
I'll never understand the argument that buying wins is a linear function.  You can break down how much of the wins each man contributed after the season is over, but not WHY he contributed that number and not a different number.  Or whether he'll put up the same number next year.
And I don't understand why paying Fielder 20 million for 5 WAR is worse than paying 20 million for 3 other guys who add up to 5 WAR.
At least if you pay it to Fielder you have two other slots to put in cheap hitters who can out-perform their contracts.  I assume that Cameron isn't indicating that we should pay out 7 million dollar contracts to more Washburns, Batistas and the like.  Maybe he'd like us to pay 7 million to a guy who can put up 3 WAR and get a better return on our investment, but this doesn't seem like the FA market to do that in.
We're going to spend the money anyway.  After spending so much time getting out from under Silva and Batista, why are we advocating spending our gains on more of their ilk?  We still have Figgins to deal with, and in no universe are 2 Figgins worth 1 Fielder.  Blowing our money in smaller chunks - to feel better about it if it doesn't work out - doesn't really work in practice, IMO.
I would rather have Felix as a 20 mil lynchpin for the pitching staff, Fielder as one for the offense, and then let the farm fill most of the rest as we go than waste that money on trash just because other teams do.
Again, maybe it wouldn't be wasted, and we'd add our next Ichiros and Boones and Moyers and Oleruds for that Fielder money.
I'd love for that to be the case.  But the only player on this market I am positive is a world-class hitter is Fielder.  If Jack makes a different bet - via trade, different assessment of certain members of the FA class, whatever - then I hope it works out much better than Figgins.
Because what we can afford less than spending 25 million on a 5 WAR middle of the order hitter for the next six years is spending that same amount on more average vets who are "safer bets" and are worth far less.
~G