We need better measures of defense. The Pirates lead the league in double plays - by a wide margin. They have the fourth-best "range factor" which is (putouts + assist / 9 innings). That would mean they get a lot of putouts and assists.
On the other hand, they have the league's worst "zone rating," which is something STATS came up with to measure the percentage of balls a player got and/or coulda got.
How do we reconcile these measures? The Bucs are middle-of-the-pack for strikeouts and walks. The only explanation I can see is this. Maybe because they are fourth in the league in groundball generation the infielders get a lot of opportunities to turn the deuce and throw guys out.
So the numbers add up to an overall picture of a team that doesn't get to many balls but makes the most of the balls they get.
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