That's the only word I can come up with to describe my dismay at this year's Gold Glove selection at the American League shortstop position.

I'm astonished that not one player from the M.L.B.'s best defensive team doesn't get a mention for an award.

I can understand Texas' Mark Texiera at first. He had another amazing year: 1480 PO, 88 assists, 4 errors and 158 double plays.

I can understand Mark Loretta being passed up by Royals' Mark Grudzielanek - the numbers aren't really close.

But when it comes to defensive shortstops only one guy comes to mind - Alex Gonzalez.

Yes, I'm a homie, but I can not understand how a shortstop with a fielding percentage of .975 can be given the award over a shortstop with a .985.

Derek Jeter is surely a good player, there is little doubt. He comes to the park prepared and puts in a great amount of effort to be the best he can be. But that doesn't make him the best.

The award traditionally goes to the most "superior individual fielding performance." I take that to mean fielding percentage which is gauged by putouts+assists divided by putout+assist+errors.

Alex Gonzalez put on a defensive show in most every game and he did it almost flawlessly. He recorded only seven errors all year; Jeter more than doubled that total.

Boston fans forgot about offense when Gonzalez was on the field. If he hit .240 no one would have batted an eye. Even though he played in one of the biggest and toughest markets in the league, he performed brilliantly.

With every unbelievable play (and there were many) Gonzalez brought defense back into the minds of fans from all around Red Sox Nation. Never before had I witnessed a better defensive shortstop on the Sox - a welcome change.

Sure we all love the big boppers, but Gonzalez reminded us that there was more to baseball than home runs. He reminded us that it was a team effort.

Gonzalez' fielding percentage rivals some of the best shortstops in Boston's history:

Hall of Famer and multiple Gold Glove winner Luis Aparicio never had a fielding percentage above .983.; Johnny Pesky didn't reach .980; Rico Petrocelli never passed .981; Rick "the Rooster" Burleson who won the award in 1979 had a fielding percentage of .980 that year.

So here I am dumbfounded. Derek Jeter wins his third straight Gold Glove Award, in what apparently has become a popularity contest.

What's next, an MVP?

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