the following was taken from the John Dewan Stat of the Week e-mail for this week (also found at http://www.actasports.com/sows.php)... Not surprisingly, no Ranger regulars on the list, but Kam Loe gets on the list among pitchers.

Who are the 2007 defensive All-Stars (thus far)?

July 18, 2007

In The Fielding Bible I introduced a new way to quantify defensive contributions called the Plus/Minus System. The book covered every 2005 defensive player other than pitchers and catchers using Plus/Minus and a variety of other defensive metrics.

The Bill James Handbook 2007 published the Plus/Minus leaderboards for the 2006 season (adding pitchers for the first time) and the 2008 version will publish the Plus/Minus leaderboards for the 2007 season. But how about a preview now?

The recent All-Star Game tried to bring together 2007's best players. Let's take a look at the best players from a defensive standpoint thus far this year. Here are the 2007 Plus/Minus defensive leaderboards (through games of Monday, July 16).

First Basemen

Name     Team     PM
Albert Pujols     StL     +25
Casey Kotchman     LAA     +13
Ryan Klesko     SF     +10
Kevin Youkilis     Bos     +8
Ryan Shealy     KC     +8

Second Basemen

Name     Team     PM
Chase Utley     Phi     +16
Aaron Hill     Tor     +13
Mark Ellis     Oak     +12
Howie Kendrick     LAA     +10
Brandon Phillips     Cin     +8
Kaz Matsui     Col     +8

Third Basemen

Name     Team     PM
Pedro Feliz     SF     +21
David Wright     NYM     +15
Scott Rolen     StL     +13
Aramis Ramirez     ChC     +13
Adrian Beltre     Sea     +12

Shortstops

Name     Team     PM
Troy Tulowitzki     Col     +22
Adam Everett     Hou     +17
Jack Wilson     Pit     +12
Omar Vizquel     SF     +12
Jason Bartlett     Min     +12

Left Fielders

Name     Team     PM
Shannon Stewart     Oak     +11
Matt Holliday     Col     +10
Geoff Jenkins     Mil     +9
Adam Lind     Tor     +8
Emil Brown     KC     +8

Center Fielders

Name     Team     PM
Andruw Jones     AtL     +22
Carlos Beltran     NYM     +16
Curtis Granderson     Det     +14
Coco Crisp     Bos     +13
Alfredo Amezaga     Fla     +8
Ryan Church     Was     +8

Right Fielders

Name     Team     PM
Andre Ethier     LAD     +16
Carlos Quentin     Ari     +10
Austin Kearns     Was     +9
Alex Rios     Tor     +8
Magglio Ordonez     Det     +7
Corey Hart     Mil     +7

Pitchers

Name     Team     PM
Greg Maddux     SD     +5
Jon Garland     ChW     +5
Kameron Loe     Tex     +5
Five Tied With         +4

The worst defensive player thus far this year: Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez at -23. Derek Jeter is a close second at -21.

By the way, I've been asked the same question many times: When will the next edition of The Fielding Bible come out? Answer: Not this year, but likely next year. The reason: We're working on a new book that will take time away from doing a Fielding Bible this year. The new book is called The Bill James Gold Mine. Keep an eye out for it next spring.

Short description of the Plus/Minus System:

The Fielding Bible contains a detailed explanation of the Plus/Minus System, but here is a summary.

The plus/minus figure of +25 for Albert Pujols means that he made 25 more plays than could be expected from an average first baseman. This +25 is determined by looking at each play hit in his direction and comparing what Pujols does with that play compared to all other first basemen.

Every time a fielder catches a ball and gets the out, he receives a fraction between 1 and 0. If it was a difficult play, he gets a larger fraction. An easy play, a smaller fraction. That fraction is determined by what percentage of times that same play is made by all players at that position, in the same location of the field, and on a ball hit just as hard. The higher the percentage (easier play), the lower the fractional award for the defensive play. The lower the percentage (harder play), the higher the factional award.

Every time a fielder fails to make the play, he gets a negative version of that same fraction.

We add up all these fractions and round the number to an integer to create their Plus/Minus at that position (some guys play multiple positions in one season). A final Plus/Minus number around zero indicates an average performance.