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Tonight in Arlington, Sunday Night Baseball features a clash of the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.

Texas leads the league in runs, but the most interesting thing to watch when the Rangers are batting will actually be the shifting Rays defense.

Last season Tampa Bay led the majors by shifting their infield 216 times, an average of 1.3 shifts per game.

This season the Rays have already used 125 infield shifts, amplifying their usage to nearly six times per game.

The huge spike in shifts has primarily been caused by adjusting more often against right-handed hitters. Last season, the Rays shifted on seven percent of such at-bats; this season, the number is 50 percent.

Is this hyper-shifting working? Perhaps. Twenty-one games into the season, the Rays rank 20th in defensive efficiency but are 2nd in defensive runs saved with 20.

Tampa Bay’s opponents are hitting .255 on ground balls this year, compared to the league average of .226.

Looking at a larger sample size, Rays opponents hit .222 on ground balls in 2011, notably worse than the league average of .237.

It’s worth pointing out that the shift not only affects ground balls, but also line drives. Opponents are hitting .642 on line drives against the Rays this season, six percentage points lower than the major-league average.

Again, this season’s sample size is small, but the Rays defense was very similar a year ago, also holding opponents to a line-drive batting average six percentage points lower than the major-league average.

Several Texas Rangers are strong candidates to see shifts tonight. Since 2009, Josh Hamilton has hit 68 percent of his ground balls to the middle-right or far-right portions of the field, with 19 percent to the middle-left or far-left.

Righties Ian Kinsler (74 percent) and Mike Napoli (75 percent) have both pulled about three-quarters of their ground balls since 2009. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz aren’t far behind, at 65 percent each.

According to The Fielding Bible, the first known use of shifting was in 1946 against Ted Williams, who walked on four pitches. Sixty-six years later, the Rays are taking that idea to the extreme, and tonight’s game may be a showcase for their defensive revolution.

Information from Baseball Info Solutions was used in this post.

On Saturday, Cameron Maybin agreed to a five-year, $25 million contract with the San Diego Padres. The deal will keep the 24-year-old in San Diego through at least his first free agent year.

It's been a long journey for the former first-round pick, who was drafted ahead of the likes of fellow outfielders Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce and Jacoby Ellsbury and was involved in trades for both a star (Miguel Cabrera) as well as two middle relievers (Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb). But now on his third team and fresh off his fifth season of Major League action, Maybin has found a home.

Maybin had the best season of his young career in 2011, posting a .265/.323 /.393 triple slash line and swiping a team-leading 40 bases. He also led the Padres in runs scored (82), total bases (203), and triples (8). He tied for the team lead in hits (136) and was tied for second in home runs (9). His 4.7 Wins Above Replacement ranked sixth among all center fielders last season and tied for sixth among Padres outfielders in the Wild Card era.

Despite the success, Maybin’s offensive numbers suffered from hitting in the cavernous Petco Park, which consistently ranks in the bottom-third of the Majors in home runs hit and runs scored according to ESPN’s Park Factors. He batted .231 at home last year compared to .294 on the road, and there was an even bigger discrepancy in his slugging percentage (.324 to .457).

But while his home park punishes his surface-level offensive numbers, it is that same home park that represents one of the reasons Maybin is so valuable to the Padres - centerfield defense. Few parks are as spacious in the outfield as Petco, and Maybin's ability to track down batted balls represented a significant portion of his value in 2011.

Baseball Info Solutions has worked to upgrade its defensive analysis, a re-tooling that will be unveiled in The Fielding Bible III. Suffice it to say, the adjusted defensive metrics suggest Maybin was one of the premier defensive players at his position in 2011 - he ranked tied for third in Defensive Runs Saved.

While Maybin's defensive value is evident and his offense progressed, the latter still has significant room for growth. Most notably, Maybin's issues with changeups provide a clear area for potential improvement.

Maybin chased almost 39 percent of soft pitches (changeups, sliders, curveballs) low and away out of the strike zone and had only two hits on 239 such pitches in 2011. That .038 BA ranked 131st out of 145 qualified hitters. Specific to the changeup, Maybin ranked among the bottom of the league in batting average, OPS and strikeout rate against that pitch over the last three seasons combined.

He did, however, improve against the changeup from 2010 to 2011 - he raised his batting average (.091 to .197) and his OPS (.182 to .505), while reducing his strikeout rate (46 percent to 27 percent). Maybin - and the Padres - hope the trend continues in 2012.

Earlier today, the Washington Nationals and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract extension. The contract reportedly includes an option for a seventh year that would keep Zimmerman in Washington through 2020, if exercised. There are several angles for potential analysis, centering around both the historical place of the contract as well as Zimmerman’s own performance.

Angle No. 1: The Contract

Zimmerman’s agreement with the Nationals immediately became the second-largest contract issued in franchise history, falling short only of the free-agent commitment the team made to outfielder Jayson Werth last offseason. When one considers the two years and $26 million that is remaining on his current contract, the Nationals owe Zimmerman $126 million through 2019. With the agreement, Zimmerman becomes one of just six players to be locked up through at least 2019, joining Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp.

The average annual value of the contract works out to $16.7 million, the second-most of any third baseman, behind only Alex Rodriguez, inching past the $16 million average of Adrian Beltre’s recent deal with the Texas Rangers. It is also the third-most lucrative extension signed by a player from the 2005 MLB draft class, behind only Tulowitzki and Braun.

All told, the Nationals have now committed $126 million to Zimmerman starting in 2012. That is the 10th-most money owed to any player in baseball by any team starting this upcoming season.

Angle No. 2: The Performance

Six full seasons into his MLB career, Zimmerman has produced several elite seasons, while also having several seasons marred by injury. There is little question that when he is healthy, he is capable of producing borderline MVP-caliber seasons.

Since the start of the 2006 season -- Zimmerman’s first full year in the majors -- he ranks 11th among all position players in Wins Above Replacement, ahead of such notable large-contract recipients as Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes. He ranks third among third basemen in WAR, behind Rodriguez and David Wright. Much of that value is derived from his defense – according to Baseball Info Solutions’ Defensive Runs Saved, Zimmerman ranks third among all position players since 2007 with 73 runs saved and has finished in the top three among third basemen in the category in four of the last five seasons.

He has also produced some of the greatest seasons in Nationals/Expos franchise history. His 2009 and 2010 seasons rank second and fifth, respectively, in franchise history, with his 2009 mark of 7.3 WAR ranking behind only Vladimir Guerrero's 2002 season (7.6) and tied with Tim Raines in 1985 and Gary Carter in 1984.

But while Zimmerman has displayed the ability to be an impact player at times, he’s struggled to do so consistently. 2011 was the second season in the last four that was noticeably impacted by injuries, as Zimmerman played in only 101 games. The injury issues may have had an impact on his performance; between 2009-10, he produced an average line of .299 BA, .893 OPS, 29 home runs and 96 RBI. In 2011, his OPS dropped nearly 100 points to .798, while he hit just 12 home runs. Specifically, Zimmerman has experienced a decline in his power output since 2009, with a corresponding increase in the rate at which he’s hitting balls on the ground.

Presumably, Zimmerman has provided the Nationals with everything they expected when they made him the fourth overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft, as he ranks first in the entire draft class in Wins Above Replacement to this point, ahead of the likes of Tulowitzki, Braun and Justin Upton. But the value of the extension will be based on Zimmerman’s ability to stay on the field and reverse the downward trend in his power output.

It also raises the question of what the Nationals plan to do with third basemen Anthony Rendon, the sixth overall pick from the 2011 draft, to whom Washington gave the ninth-highest major league contract in draft history. But that is an issue for another day. For now, the Nationals locked up the franchise’s best player through 2019 and did so at a total cost of less than they paid Jayson Werth last offseason.

It was not just Jimmy Rollins offensive decline that may have scared some teams off from signing him to a long-term deal.

Statistically speaking, he’s had some issues on the defensive side as well.

Rollins signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend after being unable to secure a better deal in free agency.

Rollins hasn’t fared well in advanced defensive metrics in the last three seasons.

Let’s take a closer look.

Since 2009, Rollins has been credited with three Defensive Runs Saved. He averaged 11 Defensive Runs Saved per season from 2003 to 2008.

In 2011, Rollins finished with -2 Runs Saved, meaning his defense cost the Phillies two runs while he was in the field.

Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) charted Rollins as being well below average at fielding balls hit up the middle and to the shortstop-third base hole.

In fact, combining those two areas, Rollins ranked -15 last season, meaning he gave up 15 more hits than the average shortstop would have against the same combination of batted balls hit with him on the field.

However, Rollins still has some positive defensive attributes.

Rollins had the second highest rating among shortstops in fielding balls in the areas in which shortstops turn at least 50 percent of batted balls into outs.

Rollins turned nearly 86 percent of batted balls into those areas into outs, considerably better than the major league average of 82 percent.

His surehandedness also comes through in video review. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro has been quoted as saying he prefers the eye test to statistical analysis. Rollins still passes the eye test in a number of ways.

BIS provides ESPN Stats & Information with data compiled by its video scouts throughout each season.

Their group watches every play of every game, tags plays into more than 80 categories- approximately 30 types of Good Fielding Plays (GFPs) and 50 types of Defensive Misplays & Errors (DM&E).

Good Plays (GFP) would mostly be Web Gem-nominee type, along with things such as double play turns with the baserunner barreling in to the relay man.

Defensive Misplays & Errors (DM&E) are plays in which a fielder makes a mistake, one that has a consequence for his team. One example would be failing to complete a double play due to an unforced bobble (a fielder wouldn’t get an error).

Rollins may not be a league leader in some of the things he used to be, but he led all shortstops in terms of playing mistake-free baseball.

Rollins had only 23 Defensive Misplays & Errors last season. He averaged a DM&E every 52.5 innings, the best rate among shortstops in 2011, considerably better than fellow free agents Rafael Furcal (one every 22.7) and Jose Reyes (27.8).

Rollins also was credited with 39 GFPs. His ratio of Good Plays/Misplays was 1.7-to-1, good for fifth-best among all major league shortstops.

The Milwaukee Brewers entered Friday’s winner-take-all game just 1-5 when in position to clinch a postseason series. They did not let history dictate their future overcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings.

The last time the Brewers won a postseason series was October 10, 1982. Nyjer Morgan, who had the game-winning RBI Friday, was two years old. His RBI single in the 10th inning was the first walk-off hit by a Brewer in a postseason game. Morgan is the 11th player with a walk-off hit in a winner-take-all game and first to do it since Aaron Boone in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

Another key storyline was the play of battery-mates Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Lucroy. Gallardo allowed one earned run in six innings to move his career ERA versus the Diamondbacks to 1.23. That’s the lowest of any pitcher against the Diamondbacks in the history of their franchise (regular season and postseason).

Although Gallardo didn’t have the high strikeout total he did in his previous four starts (45 K), he was able to utilize his fastball and curveball enough to get the job done. Gallardo's fastball averaged 93.5 MPH, which was tied for his highest in a start this season. He used his curveball more than usual as he threw it 27 percent of the time in Game 5 compared to 20 percent in Game 1. It proved to be an effective pitch as 23 of his 30 curveballs were down in the zone and hitters were just 1 for 8 with two strikeouts in at-bats ending in curveballs.

Lucroy helped his pitcher, especially when receiving the curveball, recording 10 catcher blocks according to Baseball Info Solutions data. That's tied for his eighth-most in a game this season. Not an unusual stat as Lucroy ranked second among MLB catchers in blocks during the regular season.

The Diamondbacks failed to become the first National League team to come back from a 2-0 division series deficit. They lose two straight starts made by Ian Kennedy for the first time since June 27 to July 3. Overall, the team scored only seven runs in three games in Milwaukee, all losses. That's compared to 18 in their two wins in Arizona. They have now lost seven of their last nine postseason games.

Did you know:
The Brewers and Detroit Tigers (who advanced Thursday) are the first two teams ever to win a postseason series 3-2, where the score in the deciding game was also 3-2.

Where have all the great centerfielders gone?

A cursory look at the basic stats tell us that there are no elite offensive talents currently in the major leagues at that position. No player who spent half his time in center field last season and qualified for the batting title managed to hit .300.

That’s the first time that’s happened in the live-ball era (1920).

Baseball-Reference.com tells us that since 1920, there have been 173 players who spent half their time toiling in center field and had an OPS+ of at least 140. Every decade from the 1920s to the 1990s featured at least 17 individual seasons reaching that number. In the 2000s, there were 11 seasons combined and five of them were by Jim Edmonds alone. The last centerfielder to accomplish it was Carlos Beltran in 2006.

To the right is a chart of the recent annual OPS averages for major-league centerfielders. Notice especially the steady decline in the AL.

We should consider this in context with other positions since offense has depressed overall in that time span. Still, the offensive profile of the centerfielder has changed.

It’s very possible that defense has become more of a priority in front offices across the baseball landscape. Taking a glance at the American League West alone and you’ll see Peter Bourjos in Anaheim (15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2010), Franklin Gutierrez in Seattle (14), Coco Crisp in Oakland (9) and Julio Borbon in Texas (7). These players are light on offense and decidedly heavy on defense.

Looking more broadly with a defensive metric from Baseball Info Solutions, 2010 was a banner year for defense at this glamour position. The combined Defensive Runs Saved by all centerfielders that played at least 700 innings was +109. That's the high-water mark for a position that has become decidedly more defensive-oriented in the last decade.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Currently, there are nine teams that have players in their age-25 season or younger manning centerfield. And that’s not even counting players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Drew Stubbs, Chris Young and B.J. Upton.

Since 2000, the only centerfielder to manage an OPS+ of 160 over the course of an entire season is Edmonds. In the VERY early-goings this season, Baseball-Reference shows us there are four centerfielders doing that now, three of whom are still in their 20s (Matt Kemp, Colby Rasmus and Upton).

They may not be names like Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle or even Kirby Puckett but it does offer some hope for future greatness.

--Contributions made by Mark Simon, Jeff Bennett and Justin Havens

The Florida Marlins, widely criticized for failing to spend money, have locked up their second rotation piece to a multi-year contract, agreeing with right-hander Ricky Nolasco on a 3-year/$26.5 million deal. It was just under a year ago that the Marlins committed to Josh Johnson for four years, and now they will have both starters through at least 2013.

The Marlins commitment to Nolasco could signify that the team is expecting the sort of breakout that Nolasco’s peripherals have indicated is coming for years. Few pitchers have been as perplexing as Nolasco; over the last two seasons, Nolasco’s ERA has lagged well behind his supporting statistics. In other words, he has the ERA of a No. 4 starter and the peripherals of a No. 1.

In fact, Nolasco was the only starting pitcher between 2009 and 2010 (combined) to post a strikeout rate per nine innings of 8.5 or greater and an ERA of 4.75 or greater (min. 300 IP).

If Nolasco is wildly underperforming his peripherals, what could be the cause of it besides potential 'bad luck'? For starters, the Marlins defense has been one of the worst across-the-board over the last two seasons, ranking 15th in the National League in team-wide Defensive Runs Saved (-51) and 16th in Plus/minus (-79), both courtesy of Baseball Info Solutions. The Marlins received below-average defense, according to Defensive Runs Saved, at all four non-catcher infield positions, as well as in center field.

Though some of those fielders will be back in 2011 -- Dan Uggla is gone and the third base situation is up in the air -- Nolasco's combination of plentiful strikeouts and minimal walks seems destined to put him in line for a breakout season at some point in his career. Over the last two seasons, Nolasco ranks fourth among starting pitchers in baseball in strikeout-to-walk ratio, and three of the other four in the top five have won a Cy Young award at some point in their careers.

Put it all together, and the Marlins have assembled a front three portion of their starting rotation -- Johnson, Nolasco and Javier Vazquez -- that is unmatched in its ability to register strikeouts. In fact, among pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched over the past two seasons, the Marlins are the only team in baseball scheduled to go into 2011 with three starters who have averaged 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings or better over that span. Only two other teams even has two such starters -- the Detroit Tigers with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and the San Francisco Giants with Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez.
So while the Marlins might be banking on a breakout from Nolasco to justify the contract, they are putting their money on a pitcher whose underlying statistics justify the faith.

With more than $750 million committed by major league teams, plus a slew of significant trades, it’s been a busy offseason. Here are some quick takes on notable moves that took place in the last seven days.

Jason Bartlett (Padres) Bartlett was consistently below average as a Ray in his ability to turn double plays. According to Baseball Info Solutions, it is estimated that Bartlett cost his team four runs in 2009 (worst in the majors) and three runs in 2010 (second-worst) because of his poor performance when attempting to turn double plays. -- Katie Sharp

Carl Crawford (Red Sox) If a good statistical benchmark for Carl Crawford over the next seven seasons is 250 steals and 100 home runs, consider this: The last player to do that over seven seasons was Marquis Grissom (1992-1998). -- Mark Simon

Jack Cust (Mariners) Cust fills a significant need for the Mariners. His .395 on-base-percentage, .438 slugging percentage, .166 isolated power and .371 weighted on-base average (wOBA) for the Oakland Athletics in 2010 all would have been the best on the Mariners. -- Justin Havens

Jeff Francoeur (Royals) Francoeur posted the second-worst on-base percentage of any outfielder in 2010. That runs counter to one area of improvement for Kansas City. The Royals tied for ninth in the AL in walks last year, after finishing in the bottom two in the previous three seasons. -- Paul Carr

Tony Gwynn Jr.(Dodgers) Gwynn finished fourth in Net Rating (a measure from Baseball Info Solutions that looks at approximately 30 categories of Good Fielding Plays and 50 categories of Misplays). Gwynn’s signature defensive play was a game-saver on June 6, with the Padres leading by a run in the bottom of the 10th inning. He threw out Placido Polanco trying to go first-to-third on a single with one out. That’s the kind of play the Dodgers could use. Their assist total from centerfielders dropped from 14 in 2009 to three in 2010, tied for fewest in the majors. -- Mark Simon

J.J. Hardy (Orioles) Last year’s Orioles left side of the infield averaged a home run every 71 at-bats and a walk every 25. Hardy and Mark Reynolds netted a homer every 22 at-bats and a walk every eight. -- Justin Havens

Shaun Marcum (Brewers) It will be interesting to see if Marcum’s ability to generate swings-and-misses is as good in the NL. Batters missed on 50 percent of their swings against his changeup and chased over 40 percent of those offerings, both ranking among the top five in the AL. His changeup putaway rate (strikeouts/two-strike changeups thrown) of 25.9 percent was the fourth-highest in the league. -- Katie Sharp

Mark Reynolds (Orioles) Reynolds’ league-worst .198 batting average last season was unusual -- more than 50 points worse than the his .250 over the two previous seasons. Though Reynolds’ contact rate and in-play percentage were consistent from 2008-10, he didn’t have good fortune when putting balls in play. His BABIP of .257 in 2010 was the fourth-lowest in the NL, far below his mark of .330 from 2008-09. -- Katie Sharp

Ty Wigginton (Rockies) Wigginton may mesh well with Coors Field. Inside Edge tracks well-hit average (a subjective rating that favors line drives and long fly balls) and ranked Wigginton 33rd in that stat (.263). However, he ranked 95th in slugging percentage (.415). For comparative purposes, new teammate Troy Tulowitzki had a well-hit average one point higher than Wigginton (.264) and ranked eight-best in the majors in slugging. -- Mark Simon

Now that it appears that Derek Jeter will be a New York Yankee for at least the next three seasons, he’ll in all likelihood become the team's all-time leader in games played (106 behind Mickey Mantle) and stolen bases (three shy of Rickey Henderson). He's already the franchise's all-time leader in hits.


Assuming he stays healthy, the Elias Sports Bureau tells us that next season will Jeter will become the 15th player in major-league history to record 3,000 hits with one team. (He's currently at 2,926.)

From 1995-2010, Jeter averaged 194.3 hits per season. If he's able to maintain that rate over the next three years, Jeter will have close to 3,500 hits -- only Ty Cobb, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron would have more with one franchise.

While Jeter will make a reported $51 million over the next three seasons, Miguel Tejada received a one-year deal with the World Series champion San Francisco Giants for $6.5 million earlier this week. Despite the disparity in salary, Jeter and Tejada have put up similar numbers in recent years.

Jeter has won back-to-back American League Gold Glove awards; however, according to Baseball Info Solutions, Jeter ranked as the fourth-worst shortstop in 2010 in defensive runs saved (-14). His Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was ninth among shortstops in MLB, behind such players as Stephen Drew, Cliff Pennington and Juan Uribe.

So while it’s no surprise that Jeter will be back in the Bronx, he is coming off one of his worst seasons offensively.

In 2010, Jeter hit:
• .246 vs. right-handed pitching (worst of any full season)
• .246 on road (worst of any full season)
• .265 in 2nd half (worst of any full season)
• .271 with runners in scoring position
(second straight season under .280 after three years of at least .300)
• .237 with runners on base (worst of any full season)
• .244 with two outs (worst of any full season)

(Scott Beaman contributed to this post.)

Adrian Gonzalez rates right alongside Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard as one of the game's pre-eminent power-hitting first basemen. This, despite the fact that he played half of his games over the last five seasons in the pitcher friendly Petco Park.

If Gonzalez had played in a hitter's park (like Fenway Park), his numbers would have been gargantuan.

From 2008-10, Gonzalez hit 37 home runs at Petco Park. That might not sound like a lot, but it is, considering that Petco is, by far, the worst National League park for a left-handed power hitter.

Baseball Info Solutions uses a metric called "Park Factor" that compares the numbers of teams and their opponents at home and on the road. From 2008-10, Petco's "Park Factor" for lefties was 59 (on a scale of 100).

To calculate how many home runs Gonzalez would have hit at a ballpark that treated lefties in a neutral manner, take the 37 home runs he hit and divide by .59. Take that total (62.7) and adjust it to Fenway Park, which had a "Park Factor" of 88 from 2008-10. Multiply 62.7 by .88

Based on those calculations, the 37 homers that Gonzalez hit at Petco over the last three seasons is equivalent to a left-handed batter hitting 55 home runs at Fenway Park.

Over the last five seasons, Gonzalez hit 62 opposite field homers. According to Hit Tracker, only three would not have been home runs in Fenway Park. In fact, all 22 of his opposite field home runs hit at Petco since 2006 also would have been home runs in Boston, despite the dimensions and height of the Green Monster.

Defensively, Gonzalez will be a downgrade at first base from Kevin Youkilis.

Again, according to Baseball Info Solutions, Gonzalez rated as an average/below-average defender in four of his five seasons with the Padres. Last year, his plus/minus rating was -1, which estimates that he made one fewer play than the average first baseman. Youkilis has rated as an above-average defender at first base in each of the last five seasons, and last year had a +5 rating.

Last year, Gonzalez's main issue was on balls to his right, where he had a -8 rating; however, this might not be a significant problem in Boston, since Dustin Pedroia had a +3 rating on balls to his left in 2010.

Youkilis in all likelihood will move back to third base with the addition of Gonzalez. Youkilis played nearly 500 innings at third in 2009, and was above-average with a +10 rating. That’s better than Adrian Beltre, who was +8 last season.

(Derek Czenczelewski, Justin Havens, Katie Sharp and Mark Simon contributed to this post.)

Below is a look at some notable winners from the 2010 Rawlings American League Gold Glove voting. While analysis of fielding remains behind similar evaluations of pitching and hitting, there can be no disputing that some of the voting results and advanced fielding metrics are at odds.

Perhaps the most interesting result was that, whether you look at Baseball Info Solutions plus-minus or Fangraphs.com’s Ultimate Zone Rating, not a single player who ranked first in his respective position finished first in the Gold Glove voting. That’s not to say that several high-quality performers weren’t recognized, but that the elite defenders at each position by advanced metrics were shut out across the board.

SS Derek Jeter

The yearly debate continues. The New York Yankees Derek Jeter received his fifth career Gold Glove award this season, and, according to Baseball Info Solutions, it’s nearly indefensible. According BIS, Jeter’s plus-minus was -13 in 2010, the second worst among all shortstops. In the same vein, Jeter had 33 defensive misplays, second most among AL shortstops to the Los Angeles Angels Erick Aybar. By another metric, UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 defensive games), Jeter also failed to hold up, coming in as the third-worst at the position, ahead of only Kansas City Royals Yuniesky Betancourt and the Tampa Bay Rays Jason Bartlett.

What’s equally interesting is that Jeter ranked first among shortstops in fielding percentage at .989 (among those with at least 500 innings), thanks to only six errors. This suggests that the voters are looking at only one aspect of fielding (errors), while ignoring equally important aspects such as range. As the advanced metrics suggest, it’s not Jeter’s ability to field balls he gets to that’s the issue, but rather his ability to get to balls in general.

OF Carl Crawford and 3B Evan Longoria

The two winners from the Tampa Bay Rays represent arguably the strongest choices in the AL. Crawford has long been one of the best left fielders in the game and was rewarded in 2010. He ranked second among all AL left fielders in plus-minus at +12, while also ranking second among outfielders in UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 defensive games). Longoria also holds up well under these metrics, ranking third among AL third basemen in plus-minus at +13, first in Good Fielding Plays with 60 and, in terms of spectacular plays, ranked first among third basemen in Web Gems points this season.

OF Franklin Gutierrez

Gutierrez’s selection is noteworthy because it arguably comes a year too late. Gutierrez was the most dynamic defender in baseball last season according to UZR/150, leading all of baseball with a +28.9 mark. In 2010, however, that fell back to +6.8, still quite good but just seventh overall among outfielders. Gutierrez and Seattle Mariners teammate Ichiro Suzuki (also a winner) tied for the MLB lead with three home run-saving catches, while Gutierrez also had the most Web Gem points among AL outfielders. So while Gutierrez was not the best outfielder this season, or even one of the top three, the voters probably took a year to catch up to his fielding excellence.

It’s September and there’s a pennant race of a different nature taking place on a baseball field near you.

That would be the battle among individual players for the Web Gem pennants, like the one that Mariners shortstop Jack Wilson had hanging in his locker earlier this season after winning top honors among shortstops for 2009.

This year, there are three players who rate head-and-shoulders above the rest when it comes to our Web Gem scoring system, and each of them is involved in the real pennant race as well -- Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.

For those unfamiliar, fans can vote for each night’s best gem on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page on ESPN.com. Scoring is tabulated based on the voting finish from each day. A player and his team receive five points for a No. 1 voted Gem, four points for a No. 2, all the way down to one point for the No. 5 rated Gem. The results have been tabulated all season on the Web Gem Scoreboard.

At the end of the season, Baseball Tonight crowns individual position champions and an overall champ. Last year’s overall champ, Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, has not been able to duplicate his run to the title and will likely be passing the crown on to another honoree.

This year, in addition to its Web Gem tabulations, ESPN Stats and Info has access to defensive analysis provided by Baseball Info Solutions, a company that has authored two books on the subject, both titled The Fielding Bible.

That company has a group of "video scouts," trained observers who track "scouting data," compiling performance in terms of Good Fielding Plays (GFPs).

A GFP is essentially what we’d think of in Baseball Tonight terms as a "Web Gem Nominee." It’s one in which a fielder turns a would-be hit into an out, turns a double play quickly, robs a hitter of a home run, or makes some other sort of positive defensive contribution, above and beyond what would be expected from someone at his position.

Those numbers have also been tabulated all season, and it’s interesting to compare the top-rated players in terms of Web Gems and GFPs.

There are only two positions at which baseball fans and the folks at Baseball Info Solutions agree: With Phillips at second base, and Carl Crawford in left field.

If you’re not satisfied with the current pennant races, good battles abound for both Web Gem and GFP supremacy, such as:

• Center Field, where Franklin Gutierrez snatched the Web Gem lead Thursday with a No. 1 Gem for his third home run robbery of the season (he and Ichiro Suzuki have the most in the majors). He’s one point ahead of Dexter Fowler and two points ahead of Marlon Byrd. Byrd, for his part, is dead even in Good Fielding Plays among centerfielders with Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates.

• First Base, with Mark Teixeira and his three No. 1 Web Gems leading Albert Pujols. In GFP scoring, it’s Pujols who has a slight lead on Daric Barton of the Athletics. Teixeira is fourth by their scoring, trailing Joey Votto as well.

• Pitcher, where Mark Buehrle set the standard for Web Gem excellence on Opening Day. He’s the only pitcher in baseball with a No. 1 Web Gem and a No. 2 Gem, giving him a lead at that spot. Trevor Cahill of the Athletics not only is a viable Cy Young contender, but he leads Livan Hernandez and Bronson Arroyo for the GFP lead, with eight overall.

The battles for the overall championship both could extend into the final days of the season. Phillips has the overall Web Gem points lead, on the strength of a dozen total gems, but Tulowitzki is just one point behind, and Longoria is two back. The Good Fielding Play title may go to the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, who is currently clinging to a slight edge on Mets third baseman, David Wright. Much like the real pennant races, it’s something that bears watching these last few weeks.

This week in the TMI Power Poll, we break down the top 10 bullpens in the bigs. The ability to have a strong stable of arms late in the game has been the difference for many teams this season as managers have more and more information at their disposal to play matchups.

The Padres were the runaway winner, according to our panel, garnering all 10 first-place votes. Their bullpen is a big reason why they have been a surprise so far this season, tied with the Braves for the National League's best record. According to Buster Olney, the thing that sets San Diego's pen apart is that it has multiple weapons, different looks, and an excellent closer (Heath Bell). Here's a look at the rest of the top 10:

The All-Star Game is right around the corner, and while it's usually the big hitters that get the majority of bids to the Midsummer Classic, that doesn't mean the slick fielders should be ignored. With that in mind, here are the top defensive players at each position thus far in 2010, using Defensive Runs Saved, a stat we've developed at Baseball Info Solutions that measures how each player fares relative to the average fielder at their position.

Pitcher -- Mark Buehrle, White Sox, +6 runs: Remember that between-the-legs flip on Opening Day? Well, Buehrle's defensive prowess is nothing new, and his greatest skill is controlling the running game. Since 2006, 60 percent (26 out of 43) of potential base stealers have failed against him, and 20 of those were erased via the pickoff.

Honorable mention: Ricky Romero, Blue Jays, +6

Catcher -- Miguel Olivo, Rockies, +9: He has thrown out 52 percent (17 of 33) of attempted base stealers this year, easily a career high for the nine-year veteran.

Honorable mention: Yadier Molina, Cardinals, +6

First Base -- Daric Barton, Athletics, +12: He’s played fewer than 300 games at first base in the majors but has 23 Runs Saved to his credit. Finally in the lineup everyday, Barton is comfortably pacing the league.

Honorable mention: Justin Morneau, Twins, and Russell Branyan, Mariners, +8

Second Base -- Chase Utley, Phillies, +15: Is there a more underrated superstar than Utley? He's been the best player on the Phillies for the past four years, and yet two of his teammates have won NL MVP awards. Utley has put up double-digit Runs Saved for the sixth straight season at a premium defensive position and leads all of baseball in Total Runs since 2005, his first full season.

Honorable mention: Robinson Cano, Yankees, +12

Third Base -- Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals, +12: Last season’s Fielding Bible Award winner and Web Gem champion is no surprise here. Interestingly, converted third basemen Chase Headley and Jose Lopez are more than holding their own at the position, saving at least 10 runs each with their glove.

Honorable mention: Jose Lopez, Mariners, +11, and Chase Headley, Padres, +10

Shortstop -- Yunel Escobar, Braves, and Alexei Ramirez, White Sox, +11: Escobar isn’t really a surprise here, finishing with double digit Runs Saved in each of the past two seasons. Ramirez’s recent defense play has been a pleasant surprise for White Sox fans after saving just two runs last year in his first season at the position.

Honorable mention: Alex Gonzalez, Blue Jays, +14

Left field -- Carl Crawford, Rays, +10: This three-time Fielding Bible Award winner recently leapfrogged Colorado’s Seth Smith for the positional Runs Saved lead, and don't expect him to relinquish the spot. With defense comprising a large portion of his overall value, Crawford will be an interesting free agent to follow this winter.

Center field -- Austin Jackson, Tigers, +14: Lost in the ninth inning of Armando Galarraga’s near-perfecto was Jackson's over-the-shoulder catch in the ninth inning. Those types of plays are par for the course for this rookie.

Honorable mention: Marlon Byrd, Cubs, +12

Right field -- Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, +14: While his arm isn’t what it once was, Ichiro is still the best defensive right fielder in the game.

Honorable mention: Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals, +8

Ben Jedlovec is a researcher for Baseball Info Solutions.

Rewind to the first week of the season, when the San Diego Padres visited their NL West rivals the Colorado Rockies. With nobody out and Padres shortstop David Eckstein on first in the top of the 14th inning, Adrian Gonzalez hit a fly ball to deep right field.

Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe, who is not known for his defense, couldn't get to the ball in time and failed to cut it off before it trickled to the wall. Knowing that Eckstein represented the potential winning run, Hawpe came up gunning for home but overthrew the first cutoff man (Melvin Mora). The ball bounced twice before reaching Todd Helton, but it was too late to nab Eckstein, whose run made the difference in the game.

Doug Glanville writes Thursday about outfield defensive fundamentals, drawing on his own experiences from high school through his nine-year big league career. The University of Pennsylvania alumnus emphasized hitting the cutoff man and getting the ball in quickly to prevent runners from advancing extra bases. These fundamental defensive plays go unnoticed by most fans but are often just as important as the offensive highlights, Glanville says.

Unnoticed no longer. Baseball Info Solutions tracks these sorts of unheralded defensive plays as part of our defensive misplays (DM) and good fielding plays (GFP) records. We track 54 types of defensive misplays, and 28 different good fielding plays. For example, BIS marks missing the cutoff man as “DM 47” or taking a bad route to a fly ball as “DM 26,” both examples that Glanville cites.

On the flip side, there are things a fielder does that we don’t always expect, and we record those, too. For example, when an outfielder cuts a ball off in the gap and thus prevents runners from advancing extra bases, he gets a “GFP 22.” Using this data, we can accurately determine the best fielders in baseball.

Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer is the 2010 leader in GFPs that prevent extra bases. He has cut the ball off or gotten it back in quickly to hold the runners at their bases seven times this season. Angels right fielder Bobby Abreu is the anti-Cuddyer, with a league-leading five defensive misplays on extra-base attempts.

As you might expect, youngsters are particularly prone to mental errors. Sophomore Colby Rasmus leads all outfielders with seven defensive misplays on throws. In fact, every outfielder with at least six throwing DMs is under age 30. We’ll expect each of these players to make fewer mistakes with more experience and coaching, as Glanville did as his career progressed.

We don’t have to rely solely on GFPs and DMs to tell us who’s doing all the little things right. Adam Jones, whom Glanville mentions as an example of a fielder who takes good angles to cut balls off in the gap, has thrown out three runners in extra-base situations already this season. Additionally, runners have taken the extra base just 41 percent of the time off Jones (21-for-51), tying him with B.J. Upton as the lowest rate among regular center fielders this season.

Marlins left fielder Chris Coghlan has thrown out six extra-base seekers, tops in the league so far. BIS estimates that he’s saved five runs defensively with his throwing arm so far this season, also the best in baseball. Although he’s having a hard time reproducing his rookie of the year season offensively, Coghlan is finding a way, albeit with less fanfare, to help his team on the other side of the ball.

Ben Jedlovec is a research analyst for Baseball Info Solutions.