It’s not that you’re targeting pitching that I’d disagree with, but the particular pitchers.

- Lackey wouldn’t be a horrible guy to go after, though I have a feeling he’ll end up signing with one of the big boys (read: ready-made contender with a history of spending like a big-market club).

- Whoever goes out and spends the money on Marquis this offseason is going to regret it, so I certainly hope it won’t be the Nationals. He’s a league-average (possibly being a bit kind) starter coming off of a career year (well… first half, really) who will almost certainly command more money than he’s worth because of that. He’s got poor power peripherals and would be pitching in front of a club that remains below average defensively with a few notable exceptions (obviously Zimm and Morgan… Zimm would be the more important of the two, as Marquis is at his best when he’s throwing a lot of groundballs). The only notable thing that’s really in his favor is that every major league team he’s ever played for has gone to the playoffs (literally… the Braves [2000-03], the Cardinals [2004-06], the Cubs [2007-08], and the Rockies 2009). Almost as notable is the fact that Marquis pitched poorly enough in 2006 and 2007 to be left off the playoff roster and poorly enough in 2008 and the second half of 2009 so that he was placed in the bullpen for the playoffs. He’s just not really that good, but had his best half of baseball ever to earn a spot on the All-Star team (again, pitched so poorly down the stretch that he wasn’t even in Colorado’s playoff rotation). Yes…. he’s my main problem.

- With the exception of the fact that he is plagued by the base on balls (which means he’d fit right in, right?), I actually like Gonzalez quite a bit. He could be a real solid pickup this offseason, as the team (all due respect to “If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!”) could use someone capable of taking over the closing duties in a big way. Gonzalez has lost the closing duties to Rafael Soriano in each of the past two seasons, but it was as much a product of Soriano being right-handed as anything else. Gonzalez is a proven commodity who may actually see his salary demands drop a bit because of the past two seasons, and that is a great thing for a team like the Nats to try and take advantage of.

- I’d have liked to see them sign a guy like Howry three or four years ago. He’d be a solid depth guy who could possibly handle some setup duties. He’s 36 and, though he bounced back from an awful 2008 a bit, definitely showing signs of decline.

Regarding the trades… Bergesen had a real nice big league debut, but I’m not enamored with his minor league peripherals. Another pitcher who looks kind of weak from a power prospective (poor K rate, though he masks it with a great walk rate). Keeps it on the ground, at least. Pretty decent showing as a 27-year-old rookie by Michael Aubrey…. Of course, the words 27-year-old rookie stand out like a sore thumb here. I wouldn’t find Wigginton that interesting, but I’d probably find him more interesting than Aubrey. I wouldn’t find the deal as a whole remotely interesting for the Nats, though, and feel they could do quite a bit better for Dunn (without throwing Martis in).

- Oakland: Not this much better, though. I view Bergesen as a Grade C pitching prospect. I like his potential to be a back-end starter who could surprise with a couple more seasons like he did in 2009. Anderson is a Grade A pitching prospect who is probably going to (and this year certainly is indicative of this possibility) make a run at a Cy Young or two (not saying he’ll win it, but at least be in the conversation a few times in his career). Comparing him and Bergesen is like comparing apples to oranges, despite the fact that Bergesen’s ERA on the year was better.

FIP: Anderson (3.69), Bergesen (4.10)
K/9: Anderson (7.70), Bergesen (4.49)
BB/9: Anderson (2.31), Bergesen (2.34)
K/BB: Anderson (3.33), Bergesen (2.03)
BABIP: Anderson (.317), Bergesen (.289)

Perhaps most importantly, Anderson is 21 years-old, while Bergesen is 24. There’s quite a bit more upside there. The only reason that I bring up BABIP is to point out that Anderson was significantly better than Bergesen in pretty much everything but HR/9 despite being a bit unlucky with the defense behind him. BABIP should normalize in the .290-.295 range.

I’m not a big believer in Barton at this point, and I don’t think that Oakland would have any concerns about moving him, particularly with Brett Wallace and Chris Carter in house. I can’t say much about Craig Breslow outside of the fact that he makes me shrug. Still, if I’m Billy Beane, as much as I love Adam Dunn, I’m not trading a cost-controlled 21-year-old who already looked like an ace in the second half of his rookie season for him straight up.

Nothing personal, but I wouldn’t replace Rizzo with you. Nice to see someone post their thoughts about the upcoming offseason, though. Again, like where your head’s at, but I just disagree with the execution of the ideas.

Honestly, no free agents will sign with the Nats unless it’s the only half decent offer….like Dunn.

Our FO’s said that they’ll have to build with trades.

I’d like to have Lackey but there’s no way in hell he’d sign with the Nats.