I'm old enough to remember when Theo dared let slip the phrase "bridge year" prior to the 2010 season (which turned out to be an entertaining and solid team derailed by unfortunate injuries). Coincidentally or not, that was followed the next off-season by the biggest cash outlay in team history to date and proclamations by the press that he'd built the "greatest team of all time". That sure went well.
So I don't blame any Boston GM or CBO for not wanting to admit to a rebuild, even for a season. I also don't think that going on a spending spree to win the off-season is necessary to being "committed to winning" or whatever we want to call it. One free agent signing isn't going to change the world. Nor is missing out on him. Though I do think it makes a ton of sense to wait until something actually happens before (over)reacting to it.
So I don't blame any Boston GM or CBO for not wanting to admit to a rebuild, even for a season. I also don't think that going on a spending spree to win the off-season is necessary to being "committed to winning" or whatever we want to call it. One free agent signing isn't going to change the world. Nor is missing out on him. Though I do think it makes a ton of sense to wait until something actually happens before (over)reacting to it.