Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos Jim Tracy instructs new first baseman Adam LaRoche. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Bradenton makeovers: Team's undergoing change and so are its facilities Pirates Notebook: Eldred homers, Castillo hurt in loss Spring Scorecard: 03/04/2007 Bob Smizik: Spring training games no real gage

TAMPA, Fla. -- There are many ways to ask the question: Will the Pirates be improved defensively in 2007?

The simplest is to run it by Bill Mazeroski, one of the great glove men in the game's lore and a coach for the team in spring training.

"I think it'll be a good defensive team," he said. "You can go all around the diamond and see it."

Fair enough, but why stop there?

From a statistical standpoint, the answer is that, quite likely, yes, the Pirates will be better.

Start with the most common measurements: They made 104 errors last season, tied for seventh in the 16-team National League, and that included a franchise-record 81 errorless games. Their fielding percentage of .983 ranked ninth. Each being about average, it might be reasonable to expect that, given some individual upgrades, they could be better than average this summer.

There is this, too: The team's defensive efficiency rating last season was .676, lowest in Major League Baseball and just .001 higher than the lowest mark by any team in 30 years, according to Baseball Prospectus. That figure is compiled by determining the number of outs recorded out of the total balls put in play. It provides the added dimension not only of the fielders' ability to get to balls put in play, but also the force with which pitchers allow those balls to be struck.

Obviously, the Pirates could not do worse on that count. But it merits at least a mention that their two best months of the season were the last two, including a .719 mark in September, when many of their projected starters were in their current spots.

Still, the best way to answer the question probably is to work around the diamond, as Mazeroski suggested, for the eight everyday players.

Catcher Ronny Paulino operated at extremes as a rookie. He threw out 36.2 percent of runners, third in the league. But he also committed 11 errors and nine passed balls, largely the result of clumsy footwork.

To that end, bench coach Jim Lett is working with Paulino on drills designed to make his feet quicker and more efficient.

First baseman Adam LaRoche is seen as the biggest upgrade. Xavier Nady handled the position well last season, but Sean Casey, Craig Wilson and Ryan Doumit ranged from average to novice. LaRoche made only five errors in 1,219 chances last season, has solid range and has one of the strongest and most accurate arms of anyone at his position.

Chris Duffy makes the outfield defense better if for no other reason than that he will be around all season. Click photo for larger image.

"There's a Gold Glove in that young man's future," manager Jim Tracy said.

"Smooth," Mazeroski called him.

Assuming Jose Castillo keeps his job at second base, it is hard to imagine him making 18 errors again, including, amazingly for someone at his position, 15 on throws.

But he is 20 pounds lighter and hope is high that the regained athleticism -- as well as a sharper focus on situational matters -- will have him improved.

Shortstop Jack Wilson made 18 errors, too, a career high right after finishing as the Gold Glove runner-up three consecutive years. That made excellent prognosticators of all those who, last spring, feared that the 20 pounds of muscle he added to improve his stamina would hurt his defense.

But Wilson now is lighter. It is only 6 pounds, but his intricate offseason conditioning program focused on his calf muscles for improved reaction time to grounders.

"I'm going to be back on my game," Wilson said.

Even with the slip last season, he displayed the second-best range of any shortstop in the National League, according to the statistics-based Bill James Handbook, and still turned in his share of gems.

And this should not be forgotten: When on top of their game, Wilson and Castillo can be the best double-play combination in baseball.

If Freddy Sanchez remains at third, the Pirates might have their best chance at a Gold Glove. His fielding percentage of .981 at that position was best in the league, and his range, as measured by the Bill James Handbook, was the best by far. Only the Detroit Tigers' Brandon Inge was better in the majors.

Jason Bay remained steady in left field with only three errors, but he was unable to cover as much ground as in previous seasons, largely due to a nagging left knee ailment that required icing after every game.

He had offseason surgery to address the knee, though, and expects being pain-free to make a difference.

Center field could be another area of significant upgrade, if only because the Pirates expect to have Chris Duffy there all season. His defense is excellent in all facets, and even the one that is not -- his arm -- is about average. It will take some rapid reputation-building to challenge the likes of Andruw Jones for a Gold Glove, but he still is one of the best.

Finally, the upgrade also will be large in right field. Not so much because Nady made no errors there last season and has a good glove, but because he will be far better than Jeromy Burnitz and anyone else who played there last season.

And, as Bay points out, Nady and others should benefit from staying in one spot.

"The most important thing for us defensively, I think, is that whatever lineup we break camp with is what we're going to have," Bay said. "There isn't going to be one day Nady playing first, the next day he's in right field, that kind of thing. Guys are going to have a chance to settle into their roles."

General manager Dave Littlefield shares the notion that the Pirates' defense will be improved.

"Definitely," he said. "I'm probably more confident with Duffy this year than going into last year. Paulino will be in his second year. First base will be upgraded. Right field, too. In general, with the players that we have at the other spots, they should be better, too."

And the idea that his second baseman and shortstop will rediscover peak form?

"I certainly hope so."

At the same time, Littlefield, perhaps in the spirit of that dead-last defensive efficiency rating, views the defense from a larger scope.

For one, he would like to see the pitchers cut down on their walks. The Pirates issued 620, third in the league, and hit 70 batters, fifth in the league. More runners leads to more pitches for batters to pound, and that leads to more balls that are difficult for fielders to reach.

"As our pitchers get more experience, I do anticipate us cutting down our walks, which will help us a great deal as far as giving up fewer runs and improved defense," Littlefield said.

That is especially true with a rotation such as the Pirates', which counts only Ian Snell as a strikeout type.

"Definitely, when you have guys that are more oriented toward contact than strikeouts, logically, defense does come into play more," Littlefield said.

The pitchers can play a pivotal role, too, by keeping the runners they allow from taking extra bases. And they are very efficient on that count: Thanks largely to Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, the Pirates' total of 25 pickoffs or caught stealings by pitchers was the best in the league. Only two steals all season came off the pitcher. And having a third left-hander in the rotation, Tom Gorzelanny, adds to that element.

"And you know what? Those numbers are going to go down," coach Rusty Kuntz predicted. "Because people are just going to stop running on us."

However much the Pirates' wobbly starting pitching and woeful offense contributed to their 67-95 record last season, it is entirely possible that the defense hurt just as much. Which might be why the talk is so upbeat this spring about the ramifications of having it improved.

"It's so important for us to be better in the field, and I think the possibilities are very good," Wilson said. "We should be right at the top of every category. We've got people who can be counted on to make the routine plays, and we can make some spectacular ones, too."

"Remember, defense is what wins championships," Mazeroski said. "I'd rather gave a good defensive team than a big power-hitting team."

He raised a finger in catching himself.

"And I'm counting pitching with that defense."