Bavasi proved that BAVASI cannot build for the future and win now.
Are the Pirates cursed, or just stupid? I vote for stupid, so I wouldn't call the next guy who tried to build that club through the draft a moron for employing the same strategy that failed his predecessor. It's not the strategy that's the problem, it's the players chosen to employ that strategy.
See: 2010 Mariners team construction of pitching and defense first and second, offense third.
There's not one way to build a team, nor one way to screw it up. The Yankees have spent a ton of money forever but sucked for a while there in the 80s and early 90s. There are small market teams the compete and some that are terrible. There are overspenders who crash and burn and those who win titles.
Building an offensive juggernaut can garner a World Series appearance, but so can a pitching juggernaut. And both can fail.
Flushing the now for the future is no guarantee of success. Neither is trying to win both. It's not the STRATEGY.
Adding Branyan as a place-holder and signing A-Gone in 2012 helps 2012 just fine by keeping the spot OPEN for a free agent, instead of tying it up with a lesser player we can't shift because our minor leaguers faceplant and force our hand. Building a winner to help convince Fielder (or others) to sign here instead of viewing us as a 105 loss doormat and going elsewhere helps us.
Being able to bid for free agent power bats with the knowledge that you DO have at least ONE already and taking the pressure off to overpay and thus finding a bargain late helps us in 2011 too (yeah, I'm still assuming Russ is here then).
The equation isn't as simple as "young cheap players good, older more expensive ones bad." You're running the numbers like old-time baseball men, looking at RBI and batting average as the end of the argument.
It's more nuanced than you're admitting.
~G
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