Maybe it wasn't "poor management" at all.
I'm curious what all these people thought we should have given up for enough players to have made this team into a ring winner.
To get Scherzer or some other big name player, we'd have had to sacrifice a big chunk of the farm? Not doing that was "GOOD" management, not poor.
To get another moderate or minor piece to play 1B or bolster the pen might or might not have been enough to make a difference, but again, at what cost? Do any of us know what GMs asked from us for Berrios, Rizzo or Kimbrel or some other player that could be viewed as a major difference maker?
In hindsight, it appears we may have need way more than even the complainers thought we needed to be highly competitive.
The fact is, we looked pretty good right before the deadline and had several players about to return from the IL. We acquired Schwarber to help our offense and maybe fix the 1B issue. It's hard for Bloom to foresee a subsequent groin pull that delayed his return and stunted his ability to learn 1B quickly or even play there, at all. I guess that all his fault.
I, for one, am very happy he did not equal or top the returns I saw teams give for marginal and good talent. It does look like I'm in the minority, but I'm with Bloom and Cora on this one. This was not "the time" to go big and going half way equates to the worst of both worlds.
Next year, we spend big and set ourselves up for a deadline where maybe we are just one or two pieces away from being a top contender. That may be the better time to trade some future pieces for the here and now.
Many fans and commentators only care about winning now. Their jobs don't depend on winning next year and beyond. Bloom's does.