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The risk LincStrong is taking is that Seattle fans will want to continue winning, and will want the Ms to sign Ackley, Morales (both Boras clients), and others to long-term contracts. But unless attendance ramps up and the media bubble does not burst before 2015, they run the risk of some years of pinched revenues. Again, I agree that their focus is asset preservation and entertainment instead of my preference and yours - back to competitive baseball.
I also grew up following a franchise with an owner who really cared, Lou Perini, who owned the Braves from 1945 to 1961. He built a family construction business to a major player and made his fortune during WW2. The thing I remember about Perini is that after the 1948 World Series vs. Cleveland and seeing their lineup with Doby and Paige, he went out and aggressively scouted black players - finding Aaron and Bruton, among others who figured in their late 50s success. This was NOT popular in Boston, but it was the way to WIN. Many believe the move to Milwaukee was, in part, due to the reaction in Boston to Aaron's signing. The fact that the Red Sox were the last team to integrate reinforces my opinion. Since black men provided the backbone of construction workers during the war, and Perini always appeared comfortable around them when I would, as a little kid, see him at County Stadium, leads me to class him along with Rickey and Veeck as an unsung leader in Civil Rights. But he did it to WIN, not necessarily because he was particularly noble. (I would be interested to hear Aaron's opinion someday). He had built a business and was not afraid of criticism when he knew what he wanted and how to get it. And he got it in 1957. Would the Ms would do the same.