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I hear you. I think you are right about the limited value of Branyan and I don't think he can magically inspire Figgins, Lopez and Bradley any more than a cheaper acquisition.
But the philosophy of winning as many games as possible every season is about more than just adding one player. It's about playing Sweeney at the expense of evaluating Carp in the majors, for instance, or hanging onto Lee a little bit longer at the expense of adding one more A-Ball player to the deal. These are incremental moves that don't help the team for 2011, but hopefully they keep the bottom from falling out of 2010.
Besides, is there really a lot that the team can learn about Carp, et al that they can't see in Tacoma or during a September call up? Will an extra 150 at bats given to a borderline prospect that much more beneficial to evaluating what we've got? Or to put it another way, what would Carp (I am using him a place holder, insert whomever you wish) have to do over the next three months to convince you that he is more than a .5-1 win player?