Bravo to Sam Mellinger for tonight's Royals Notebook entry on Guillen's defense.

Royals outfielder José Guillen’s diminishing range came into play again Thursday against the Indians. He misplayed Jhonny Peralta’s run-scoring double in the seventh and failed to cut off a two-run double by Asdrubal Cabrera in the eighth.

[...]

Hillman acknowledged that Guillen’s range “comes into play at times” but stressed the Royals need his bat in the lineup.

Entering Thursday, Guillen’s Ultimate Zone Rating — a number aimed to equal the runs a fielder saves or costs compared with the league average — was a minus-6.9, which ranked 28th among 30 right fielders with at least 150 innings. John Dewan’s Plus/Minus system ranked Guillen 32nd among right fielders.

Mellinger's entry was critical but fair, and supported with not only the eyes but defensive statistics (non-errors division). UZR! +/- !

Honestly, I can't recall another time I've seen a player's range discussed so directly before, especially negatively. Usually, when we get stories about defense its because a guy has three errors in an inning, or its a positive range story after a HR-saving catch.

Nice work Sam. This was a story that needed to appear in The Star, and it did.