The National League is down to four teams now that the Pirates eliminated the Reds last week, but even including Reds, those teams reached the postseason because of their pitching and defense. The top-five teams in the National League in runs allowed this season are also the five teams that reached the postseason: the Braves (548), Pirates (577), Dodgers (582), Reds (589), and Cardinals (596).

If we remove pitching and only look at the defenses for those five teams, one team falls away from the pack. Here are our five playoff teams and their team Defensive Runs Saved (NL rank): the Pirates 77 (2), Dodgers 47 (4), Braves 45 (5), Reds 43 (6), and Cardinals -39 (14). Four of the five playoff teams rank in the top-six of the NL in team DRS, but St. Louis is second to last, ahead of only Philadelphia.

What’s even more interesting is if we break down DRS by position, only catchers have saved the Cardinals runs this year, thanks to Yadier Molina and his 12 Runs Saved. The following charts show the total team DRS for 2013 on top and player DRS on the bottom. Please note that the first chart accounts for the entire team and anyone who has logged time defensively this year. The second chart highlights those players I believe will see significant playing time in the postseason.

As you can see, Descalso makes this list at three different positions, helping the team defensively when he plays for Freese at third, but hurting St. Louis in the middle infield. In addition, Allen Craig possesses the ability to play a corner OF spot but seems unlikely to do so in October with Holliday and Beltran currently being healthier options.

This post isn’t designed to say the Cardinals need to overhaul their starting lineup now that postseason play is upon us, but rather to show a team ranked fifth in the NL in runs allowed still has a lot of room to improve in that very category. Remember, that fifth-placed ranking is the worst of any NL playoff team.

We’ve all seen it.  Runner on first, chopper back to the pitcher for an easy double play…. and the throw sails into center field.   While watching a game last week where this exact event occurred, I asked myself who is actually the worst fielding pitcher in all of baseball, and what is the proper way of coming to the answer?

Greg Maddux was universally regarded as the best fielding pitcher of his generation, and possibly ever, with a major league record 18 Gold Gloves.  More recently, Mark Buehrle has succeeded Maddux as the “best fielding pitcher,” winning the Fielding Bible Award and Gold Glove the last four years. He has a chance for his fifth in 2013.

The likes of Maddux and Buerhle have helped their cause by fielding the position with quick reflexes, barehanded snags, and, for Buehrle, an unforgettable between-the-legs flip on Opening Day 2010.   It is easy to recognize those who show up on highlight reels and win the hardware.  However, how do we classify those who don’t?

Worst Net (GFPs – DMEs) Since 2008

Looking at good fielding plays (GFPs) and defensive misplays and errors (DMEs), A.J. Burnett could be seen as the worst fielding pitcher.  Since 2008, Burnett leads all pitchers in errors and is fourth in DMs.  Second on the list is Matt Garza, whose fielding woes received some attention earlier this season.  In an August game, Oakland bunted four times against Garza, who then expressed his anger on Twitter.  However, Oakland’s moves were with good reason as Garza has 12 errors since the beginning of 2011, the most of all pitchers.

Best Net (GFP – DMEs) since 2008

Buehrle has been the pitcher to receive the most accolades.  However, by using the measure of Net (GFP-DME), Zack Greinke has been the best fielding pitcher.  His 22 Net (GFP-DME) are 15 clear of second place since 2008, and Greinke has never won a Gold Glove in his career. Although Buehrle has the second most GFPs in this time frame, he only has a Net (GFP-DME) of 5, which ranks tied for twelfth among pitchers over that span.

ALL STATS AS OF SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The Milwaukee Brewers’ shortstop, Jean Segura, has had an intriguing and puzzling season this year. He has been able to tackle difficult fielding plays, but at the same time, he’s been prone to errors on routine balls hit to him.

Segura has made 90 Good Fielding Plays (GFPs) this season, which is by far the most among any shortstop in the MLB. More than half of these GFPs are labeled “ground ball outs,” or outs recorded on difficult ground balls that otherwise would have been hits. The major leaguer with the second most GFPs at shortstop is Alexei Ramirez, with 70.

Even with all of these GFPs, Segura has still made 58 Defensive Misplays and Errors (DMEs), also the most at his position. Almost 25% of his DMEs are identified as “ground ball through infielder,” which means he failed to come up with routine ground balls hit to him. The ball either went through his legs or deflected off his glove. The shortstop with the second most DMEs is the Cubs’ Starlin Castro, with 57.

This proves that Segura is showing flashes of brilliance at shortstop but is also inconsistent at times. His season has been one of ups and downs, and because of that, he leads shortstops in both Good Fielding Plays and Defensive Misplays and Errors.

ALL STATS AS OF 9/11/2013

One of the most exciting storylines of the 2013 season has been Manny Machado’s breakout.  Earlier this month, Machado turned 21 years old, and like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, he is already among the game’s elite.  Machado is a well-rounded player, but his best skill may be defensive.  With 23 Defensive Runs Saved, Machado leads all third basemen and trails only Carlos Gomez and Andrelton Simmons, both of whom have 26 Runs Saved, among all positions.

For most of the season, Machado has had a healthy lead in Runs Saved over the rest of third basemen.  However, things have been getting tighter since Nolan Arenado made his big-league debut in late April.  Through yesterday’s games, Arenado is up to 20 Runs Saved, himself, and Arenado has played 711.1 innings this season compared to 938.1 innings for Machado.  That means that Arenado has actually racked up Runs Saved at a greater pace than even Machado.

With a couple months left in the season, third base could prove to be a fascinating defensive race between a pair of young players, similar to the one between Jason Heyward and Josh Reddick in right field a year ago.

Over the weekend, new Yankee Alfonso Soriano paid early dividends with a home run and a walk-off single against the Rays.  It was a big win for the Yankees who, even with the victory, remain 7.5 games back in the division and 7.0 games behind the second-place Rays.

Brian Cashman was probably correct in his assessment that Soriano will help the team, if only by keeping Vernon Wells and his .283 OBP on the bench.  However, the 18 home runs and 10 stolen bases that made Soriano attractive to teams like the Yankees are counterbalanced by flaws that do now show up as readily in traditional counting statistics.

Since 2009, Soriano has cost the Cubs an estimated 43 runs with his poor defense, the fifth-worst total by an outfielder in that time.  More subtle is his poor baserunning, a limitation belied by his stolen base totals.  Among players with at least 30 stolen bases since 2009, Soriano has the 10th-worst Net Gain–a comprehensive measurement of baserunning that includes success rate on moving first to third, second to home, and first to home on hits as well as stolen bases.

Of course, a right-handed bat with 30-homer potential is still a valuable addition for the Yankees.  It’s probably not worth $19 million per season, however, which Soriano will make through the 2014 season.  The Cubs will pick up a lot of that salary, but if the Yankees are as desperate to stay below the Luxury Tax threshold as media reports indicates, one wonders if they could spend their money and prospects more efficiently.

In case you haven’t noticed, Scott Kazmir has returned to the major leagues.  Not only that, but he’s made 17 starts for a contending team, the Cleveland Indians. 

Kazmir’s fastball velocity sits above 92 mph, at the same level as his 2006-07 peak with the then Devil Rays.  He’s mixing his fastball/slider/change much like before, though he’ll throw in a cutter and a curve from time to time.  He even had a 10 SO, 0 BB outing on May 9 against the A’s, who are not whiffing nearly as often this season as their record 2012 pace. 

The results have been less impressive: a 4.30 ERA (4.36 FIP), 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings (down from 10+ at his peak).  He’s also had trouble avoiding hard contact, allowing 14 home runs in his 17 starts.  That being said, his control is as good as (or better than) ever, with 3.2 walks per nine innings this season.  Most importantly, aside from some minor back issues, he’s been healthy. 

Kazmir is certainly someone to keep an eye on as the second half progresses.  If he settles in as a mediocre starter, fine.  In the short term, however, the upside is enticing.