Every year we get to whine about this, but those who vote for baseball's Gold Glove Awards really need to take it more seriously. Considering it's the only official recognition an excellent defensive player will get for his performance on the field, voters have a pretty big responsibiltiy in getting it right, or at least close. It seems that voters often laze their way into selecting either 1) the most familiar name on the ballot, or 2) a really good hitter.

Let's look at this year's recipients and point out some good selctions, poor selections, and the guys who were snubbed:

P - Johan Santana (AL), Greg Maddux (NL)

These were solid selections. Nobody fields their position as adroitly as these two. Although it's difficult to gain any statistical insight on the defensive prowess of pitchers due to the lack of zone ratings and the skewed defensive output favoring high-contact/groundball pitchers. A debatable subject is whether or not holding baserunners should be a factor concerning pitchers' defense--something that would make LHPs look a lot better.

Start considering: Carlos Zambrano, Jon Garland -- Couple of athletic RHPs, are excellent at holding runners and getting to batted rollers up either line.

C - Ivan Rodriguez (AL), Russell Martin (NL)

Just a bad job here.

Snubbed: Joe Mauer and Yadier Molina are so far ahead of the pack when it comes to paralyzing the running game, this one isn't close.

1B - Kevin Youkilis (AL), Derrek Lee (NL)

It appears Lee won on reputation, while Youkilis won with a perfect fielding percentage. Both are very close to the top, but Lee shoudn't have won.

Snubbed: Albert Pujols dominated the defensive metrics this year. He finished with the highest zone rating (.912), scoop percentage (.849), and total scoops (62) in the National League. Nobody was even close in the total scoop category. David Eckstein probably needs to put a lil' extra oomph in his double crow-hop throws to first.

2B - Placido Polanco (AL), Orlando Hudson (NL)

Couple of very good defenders here, although the only thing anybody will remember from Polanco's season was the error he made that didn't count. Hudson's had better defensive seasons.

Snubbed: Range-Warriors Mark Ellis, Aaron Hill, Chase Utley.

3B - Adrian Beltre (AL), David Wright (NL)

Beltre does make cool, flat-footed, side-armed slings to first base, but there were better candidates. Wright's selection seems to be a consolation prize for a near-MVP season.

Snubbed: Mike Lowell/Brandon Inge, Pedro Feliz. Feliz, similar to Pujols, crushed the competition metrically. And he's exactly the type of player who won't win until a half-decade long public campaign is made for him, and by that time, it'll be too late.

SS - Orlando Cabrera (AL), Jimmy Rollins (NL)

There were better candidates in the NL. But Rollins had an MVP season.

Snubbed: Troy Tulowitzki. Is a rookie allowed to win this thing?

OF - Grady Sizemore, Torii Hunter, Ichiro (AL), Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand, Jeff Francouer (NL)

Snubbed: Curtis Granderson. Has a ton of ground to cover and catches up to balls better than anyone in the AL.

Start Considering: Alfonso Soriano. I'm starting to get the feeling that outfiled assists are being undervalued. I know it's a primitive counting number statistic, but think about it, this isn't about "getting to a ball" and turning a single into an out. This is turning a runner in scoring position, or even a would-be run scored, into an out--a play that has much more leverage and influence over the game. While Soriano still looks a little raw out there, he's thrown more than 40 guys out the last two years, and has a well-above-average zone rating (.885).