The winners of the 2010 National League Gold Glove Awards are out, and there's nothing too crazy in there. Certainly nothing on par with, say, Derek Jeter in the AL. The full rundown:
P: Bronson Arroyo
C: Yadier Molina
1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Brandon Phillips
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
3B: Scott Rolen
OF: Shane Victorino
OF: Michael Bourn
OF: Carlos Gonzalez
The big winner is Rolen, who's taking home the eighth Gold Glove of his career. That ranks him third all-time among third basemen, behind Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10). A strong argument can, has, and will be made in favor of Ryan Zimmerman, who does fantastic work of his own in the field, but Rolen is no slouch, and this is a situation where either would have made sense.
Molina and Victorino each win their third Gold Glove in a row. Bourn wins his second in a row. Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, and Arroyo are first-time winners, while Pujols wins his second, and Phillips wins his second. Pujols last won in 2006, while Phillips last won in 2008.
There will be some disagreement regarding Rolen over Zimmerman, and fans will also back players like Jay Bruce, Chase Headley, and Brendan Ryan, who performed well in the defensive statistics but didn't take home any hardware. However, overall, nothing here seems too egregious, so we can all go on with our lives without getting too upset.