The Red Sox have a weak offense.

Thank you for accepting and arguing this debate. My counters: "1. Flawed rhetoric of the topic" "Weak" is not meant to have a specific number. Weak can be defined simply as not strong. This is still not supposed to be a specific number. Typically, in baseball, weak is normally considered a team that either scores in the bottom half of the league, or scores less runs than they give up. "2. Comparisons to other teams (thus far in 2010)" You are right in saying that the topic is implying this season and I am glad that you took it this way rather than picking a different year in which they had a truly awful offense. Thank you. However, it also implies the entire season. It is ridiculous to use stats from this season thus far. Since this is meant for the entire season, you can not base your arguments on the four games (including the one they are currently playing in) played this season. I used 2009 statistics only as an indicator of what the player is capable of. Stats at this point in the season prove absolutely nothing. See the first half/second half stats I posted for David Ortiz? That shows how drastic of a change can occur after the All-Star Break. A much more drastic change can occur after just the first four games of the season. "3.Don't vote on his statistics" Now I will address your player-by-player analysis: Jacoby - When did I say that Jacoby will hit over .300? I simply said that he can, as in he is capable of, hitting over .300. I do not need to see the future to know this, seeing as he did it just last season. You also say: "typically players that are hyped to do better the year after they have good seasons fall in stock the year after due to hype". There are plenty of exceptions to this rule, therefore making it a horrible indicator of any future performances. Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez have lived up to the hype recently. Pedroia - Show me one instance that Pedroia has ever displayed a bad work ethic or bad attitude in Boston. Can't do it? Because there hasn't been one. I really don't know where you are getting this information. Only .308? Are you kidding me? When did that become bad? As for the home runs, when did the #2 hitter in the lineup become a power-hitting position? Go see how many players have 0 home runs so far. You're going to find a lot of supposedly "weak" offensive players. Youkilis - Most overrated player in the MLB right now? I'm beginning to believe that you just don't like the Red Sox, because this is a rdiculous statement. Really? He's worse than Teixeira? That is your argument for him being weak? Teixeira is one of the best offensive players in the entire MLB! The players who are statistically better then Teixeira would be Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and not many more. Ortiz - Once again, you are using stats from this season which is just stupid. "He's even on steroids..." Proof? Where is your proof that he is currently on steroids? You are making baseless accusations. He will hurt himself like every other year? Only twice since 2003 has Ortiz had under 500 at bats in a full season. Your statement is completely and utterly false. You then prove that you have a dislike for the Red Sox by insulting the judgement of the fans. "I don't think I need to go on. You get to the bottom of the lineup that is traditionally used for the worse players. So if I can prove that the Sox are weak at what they claim to be "strong" then I shouldn't have to prove what weak is weak" One of the strengths of the Sox lineup is depth throughout. Last season, 5 of the players on the Sox hit over 20 home runs. Only three other teams in the entire MLB can say that. You conveniently ignore J.D. Drew, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro, who are far above average for their spots in the lineup. I deserve the vote over my opponent for the following reasons: 1. Flaws in Statistical Analysis - My opponent has done a terrible job of using facts to support his argument. Yes, they look bad, but you are taking stats from just three games! These stats are flawed. Show me one time that the first three games of a season have been an accurate way of predicting the rest of the season. You simply need to look at the stats I posted for David Ortiz in my first argument to prove my point. 2. Baseball Knowledge - My opponent has shown a complete lack of baseball knowledge throughout his argument. During his case for why Pedroia is "weak" he says "He is only hitting .308 right now..." .308 is an outstanding batting average and the fact that my opponent used this against Pedroia is very telling of his knowledge of the sport. Also, he declares that Youkilis is "weak" by saying that since he is worse than Mark Teixeira, he is not a good offensive player. Teixeira is one of the top offensive player in the entire league and it is absurd to use being slightly less successful offensively to Tex as a bad thing. He also calls Youkilis overrated, despite the fact that he is excellent at two positions defensively and consistently ranks among the top players in the MLB in terms of OBP and OPS. 3. False Statements - In his argument against David Ortiz, he states "Not to mention he'll hurt himself like every other year." Ortiz has only played under 149 games in a season twice in his entire Red Sox career. I seem to be missing the part where he hurts himself every year. 4. Biased - My opponent shows a clear disdain for the Boston Red Sox and it is influencing his arguments. He insults the judgement of Red Sox fans in terms of how they view Ortiz and he calls Youklilis overrated with no statistical back-up. 5. Selective Judgement - Rather than arguing the offense as a whole, my opponent has argued the weaknesses of each individual player. He calls Pedroia "weak" because he does not hit enough home runs. However he ignores the fact that the combined home runs of Youkilis, V-Mart, Ortiz, Drew, Cameron and Beltre make up for Pedroia's lack thereof. By my opponent's evaluation, every single MLB offense is weak because there are hitters on every team that have weaknesses. This is silly. Furthermore, he ignores some of the biggest strengths of the Red Sox offense. He ignores the depth of the lineup. The Red Sox have Mike Cameron hitting #8, but he could easily be #4 or #5 in most offenses. J.D. Drew hits #7, but there are some teams who could use him at #4 or even #3, for the really weak teams. Scutaro could be a leadoff hitter, but is #9 for the Sox. Thank you.