... the majority of the baseball world finds LAC.
yeah, but that's only part of the story
Loria - very cheap, but his team does OK because he hires qualified people and lets them to their job, Marlins compete every year with a payroll that's closer to that of the Tri-City Valley Cats than division opponents like the Mets and Phillies
but the DC dysfunction goes beyond the payroll, issue is hiring incompetent yes men, Rizzo is a lifelong scout who knows this is the only GM job he'll ever have, so he's careful and cautious, Riggleman's also a company man, and has the important added benefit of a price tag the Lerners like
if you look at teams that rebound, there's usually a change in ownership, or a change in upper management, not a big free agent signing, the Rays turned a corner very quickly when Sternberg came in, Rangers improving quickly since Hicks lost the team, early 90s Braves had Schuerholz who had already won a ring in Kansas City, would be like Stan hiring Brian Cashman here instead of Rizzo
very doubtful Lernerball produces a consistent winner, maybe a season here or there, but this is a bad ownership situation like the Orioles and Redskins that will exist until the team is sold