I don't think anyone is trying to argue that defense >/= offense. I think the point is that when you factor everything in 2011/2012 Danny Espinosa is a more valuable player than ALR.
Because ALR's bat is mundane for a first baseman. You put up those numbers at second base and use second baseman value on his UZR and ALR is a far better player than Espinosa. Hitting is always more important at any position. If Laroche hit like James Loney, would we want him at first base? If Espinosa hit like Robinson Cano, would anyone give a crap if his UZR were -5?
This is true for some players. It's probably true for LaRoche, maybe Rendon as well. It's definitely NOT true for other players.
Defense is worth 0% to a DH. Defense can be worth LESS than 0% to some players, like Adam Dunn and actually make them less valuable if they play in the field rather than if they were just a DH. For JJ Hardy last year, it was worth 75-80%.
As far as ML 2B go, last year qualified 2B totaled 22 batting runs, TOTAL, and 81 runs from fielding and positional adjustment. So on average, 2B gloves are worth a lot more than 25% of their total value. Danny is no different (-4 runs batting and 16 runs from defense).
This speaks far more to the quality of second basemen than their value. Tell me, who are the second basemen that are getting big contracts and teams want to keep for a long time? Guys like Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler, and Dustin Pedroia are valued because of their bat. The fact that Kinsler and Pedroia are goo defensively is a bonus. If they weren't they would still be playing second, because they hit (see Cano).
