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And I think his blueprint was the correct one for this team for three reasons:

1) The previous two regimes couldn't identify or develop talent AT ALL. The prospects we had were 95% garbage. If you can get teams to trade for them to give you more bankable value, you do that.

2) He's right that straight tanking didn't make sense for a team with three hard-to-move long-term assets and nothing to start with in the minors. His approach was to get cheap, affordable, stoploss wins and try to snag some upside guys. There are those guys in our core now...a core that is pretty young and has real upside.

3) They cannot outspend the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers and free agents aren't lining up to come here even if they could. It's in the middle of nowhere, it doesn't get enough media coverage, and the team has a long history of futility and horrendous personnel management from the medical/training staff right on down to the waterboy. You can change that stuff (and they're trying) but until people believe it is changed, you're going to pay a premium to get anyone.

I just wish he hadn't wasted Trumbo...that was the only trade he made that I considered immediately and verifiably stupid (and I outlined the reasons why and was proved correct)...others didn't work out, but you could understand them...Trumbo for a lame back-up catcher so you can sign another guy to replace Trumbo for the same money?  NO. Just no.