Rays Index looks at Jason Bartlett’s defensive decline in 2008. (H/T Pinto). I find it kind of surprising that Bartlett’s numbers were not good – the Rays as a team improved dramatically with the glove in 2008, by far the largest factor in their one-year improvement, and Bartlett was leading the AL in Zone Rating when I looked at the individual members of their defense in late May. ESPN no longer appears to carry Zone Ratings, but while his Zone Rating was .859 at the time, the Hardball Times has his Revised Zone Rating at .807 for the year, sixth among AL Shortstops; that would appear to support the interpretation that Bartlett’s injuries took a toll on his defense over the year. It’s also a testimony to the resilency of the Rays – Bartlett’s glovework, like Eric Hinske’s power bat, was a key factor in the Rays’ early success that deserted them as the season went on, yet they kept plugging in different contributions from different people as the season ran on.