Wow, this some chronicle of failure. Branch Rickey used to say that it was better to trade a player too early than to late. Players do change, skills deteriorate and they need to adapt. Coaches, managers and other players know when a guy has lost a few clicks off his fastball. Beckett has lost a few, and they ain't coming back. He may transition into a different type of pitcher, but Beckett as a hard thrower is history. Lester seems to be headed down a similar path as his velocity has been clicking down for the last 2 years and it is reflected in his decreasing strikeout numbers. Alarmingly, Lester is showing less of an ability to adjust to his diminishing skills than Beckett. It may be time to move him in the off season. Expecting players to perform up to career norms is part of the folly of sabremetrics. I think that it is more true that players who are performing above career norms will regress to those norms, but not the other way around.
As for the chronicling of the signings of injured players, it really does lay bare the incompetence of the FO. As you point out, Lackey's elbow problems were known. He was a TJ surgery in waiting. Carl Crawford's wrist problems had been ongoing for a few years. How do you invest $142 million in a guys and not know this. If you buy an expensive used car, you test drive it, take it to your mechanic to be checked, and you get a copy of the damn Car Fax. They either didn't get the Car Fax on Crawford or they didn't care about the recurring wrist pain. As for AGon, that was truly drunken sailor stupid. They threw a boatload of money at a guy with a bad shoulder that had just been operated. I was thrilled when they got him, but I was really concerned when I read that he had just had shoulder surgery. He is getting power hitter money. 25 HRs, and he will probably not reach that this season, is a dime a dozen for first baseman. They could get 30 or so HRs from LaRoche for about 20% of the cost of Gonzo. Performing at a high .700 OPS (where he is now) or a low .800 OPS is not worth $22 million/yr.