Will The 2010 Boston Red Sox Have Enough Offense? You Better Believe It!

You can't deny that the 2010 Boston Red Sox will have one of the strongest rotations and best defenses in all of baseball. The major concern regarding the team is their offense. Most of the baseball conversations you hear on the streets or stories we read online today always contain the same question. Will this team have the lineup to carry their pitching through October? Just like the headline says, you better believe it!

Before I begin, let me get this prediction out there right now. I don't only believe the Red Sox will have a lineup worthy of a World Series title, I believe this will be one of the best offensive Red Sox team since 2003. Don't get me wrong, The subtraction of Jason Bay was a blow to the team's power numbers. However, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. The addition of Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron will more than fill the void left by Bay. Fenway Park is made for these guys and I expect some great numbers from them. I also believe that David Ortiz will be more consistent at the beginning of the season than he was last season. Now add in Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youkilis, V-Mart, Drew and Scutaro. This is without a question a dangerous lineup from top to bottom.

Below this paragraph, I will show the projected lineup for the 2010 Boson Red Sox and estimated statistics based on each player's season average. For bench players, I will split the average statistics into thirds considering they will probably at best receive one third of the at bats starters get.

Projected Lineup:

• LF ELLSBURY     .297 AVG    10 HR      61 RBI           
• 2B PEDROIA       .307 AVG    14 HR      71 RBI
• C MARTINEZ       .299 AVG    21 HR     103 RBI
• 1B YOUKILIS      .292 AVG    22 HR      96  RBI
• DH ORTIZ            .282 AVG    35 HR     119 RBI
• 3B BELTRE          .270 AVG    24 HR      87  RBI
• RF DREW             .283 AVG    26 HR      85  RBI
• CF CAMERON     .250 AVG     23 HR      82  RBI
• SS SCUTARO      .265 AVG     10 HR      57  RBI

Bench:

• 3B/DH LOWELL   .280 AVG      8 HR       32 RBI
• MIF/3B LOWRIE  .235 AVG      2 HR       28 RBI
• OF HERMIDA        .265 AVG      6 HR       22 RBI
• C VARITEK            .259 AVG      6 HR       26 RBI

2010 ESTIMATED TOTALS:   .275 AVG   207 HR    869 RBI

                    2009 TOTALS:    .270 AVG   212 HR    822 RBI

Besides the home run total, the projected stats for the 2010 Boston Red Sox are actually higher than the actual stats they finished with last year. Let's not forget that Ellsbury still has potential to reach Grady Sizemore like power numbers. There's also room for Pedroia, Martinez, and Youkilis since they have hit more homers in past seasons than their season average indicates. Let's not forget the 30+ home run potential that Beltre once possessed and what if Papi returns to his 40+ form? In a perfect world, this could easily be a 230+ home run team that scores over 900 runs. This offense will be better than their championship years and more comparable to the 2003 Red Sox. Now mix them with that tremendous rotation and bullpen...ouch!

Feel better now?