Dumber Than Fiction

Please review the following selections from the latest Nationals.com Mailbag:

On the demotion of IF/OF Kory Casto AAA Columbus:

"Casto is a guy who has been the Nationals' Minor League Player of the Year twice. Casto set the bar high and the Nationals expected more out of him -- they don't want a singles hitter who goes to left field too often. They want a power hitter who draws a lot of walks. " (Emphasis added.)

On the possible offseason acquisition of OF/1B Adam Dunn:

"They need a power hitter in the worst way, but I don't think Dunn is the answer. He strikes out too much and he is a below-average defensive player. It's time for the Nationals to acquire complete players. If they were to sign Dunn, you might as well bring Dave Kingman out of retirement, because they are the same player. " (Emphasis added.)

Now the fellas at Fire Joe Morgan have made a career of Dunn-defending, to no apparent avail, so I won't belabor the point. But compare career lines:

Adam Dunn (8 seasons): .247/.381/.520 272 HRs 770 BB (1225 K)
Dave Kingman (16 seasons): .236/.302/.478 442 HRs 608 BB (1816 K)

Adam Dunn hits home runs, walks (and strikes out.) The Nationals need a power hitter who draws walks. As long as it's someone other than Adam Dunn.