3. Having no fear of the unknown.
The sabermetric movement in baseball brought the concept of replacement level to sports, and it permanently changed the ways that we value players, both as fans and (amateur or professional) analysts. Teams who found a first baseman with a little bit of power or a sound reliever from Triple-A had a tangible reason to realize that they could move on from those players and find a new one without having to pay a premium, because supply was so plentiful and replacement level was so high. It's what led the Red Sox under Epstein to move on from the useful-if-replaceable Brian Daubach and go reaching into the free-agent market for a non-tendered first basemen who had failed to impress in his last stop, David Ortiz.
Bad organizations are terrified of the unknown and make moves to ensure that they'll never have to end up shopping in those circles, even if they found that talent there in the first place. They give that running back they plucked off the waiver wire and put behind their great offensive line a big new contract, even though there are dozens of running backs just waiting for a similar opportunity available for the minimum. They re-sign players to deals above market value because they're afraid of some near-zero possibility that they're the only team left with money to spend and there's nobody left to spend it on. (Hi, kicker contracts!) In doing so and ensuring that they won't end up with a total mess at a position, they're forced to pay a premium for an often-inferior talent. They also forgo the opportunity of finding a bargain, a player who will outperform his salary and allow the organization to spend more on a player who they truly can't replace.
