BOSTON -- Curt Schilling delivered the pitch and Rhode Island's Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay's leadoff hitter, crushed it, sending the ball on a sizzling trajectory down the third-base line.

The ball seemed ticketed for the left-field corner for a sure double for the speedy center fielder in the first inning of last night's game at Fenway Park.

But it never made it through the infield.

Third baseman Mike Lowell, reacting quickly, took a half-step to his right, flashed out his glove and snagged the hard-hit baseball with a backhanded grab, as calmly and as coolly as you please.

Ho-hum. Just another outstanding defensive play made to look easy by the Red Sox in a season full of such plays.

One of the preseason plans for this year's edition of the Red Sox was to improve the defense, especially in the infield, and that mission was accomplished. With Lowell at third, Alex Gonzalez at shortstop, Mark Loretta at second and Kevin Youkilis, somewhat of a defensive surprise at first, Boston's infield defense has been nothing short of sensational without being look-at-me splashy.

That quartet, plus the contributions of utility infielder Alex Cora, have helped Boston fashion the majors' best fielding percentage, at .98877, entering last night's game. With four games remaining, the Red Sox have made 66 errors, which is only one off the big-league record of 65, set by Seattle in 162 games.

Only one other team -- the 1999 New York Mets (68) -- has ever had fewer than 70 errors in a season.

So when the Gold Gloves get handed out in the winter, Lowell (6 errors), Gonzalez (7) and Loretta (4) would seem to be prime candidates for a little hardware.

"I don't know that you can catch the ball much better than Lowell and Gonzalez, and Loretta is as steady as can be," said Boston manager Terry Francona.

The voting for the awards, though, can be suspect. One year, for instance, Rafael Palmeiro won the Gold Glove at first base even though he played the position for fewer than 30 games for the Texas Rangers in 1999. Palmeiro served mostly as the team's designated hitter that year, winning DH of the Year honors.

He won the award on reputation, which happens often.

Managers and coaches vote for the candidates at each position, but they are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Some teams, said Francona, actually send around some information to sway the vote, a la the Heisman Trophy voting.

And if a manager wants to boost his own team's candidate, there is wiggle room for shenanigans. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen recently said (jokingly?) that he voted for the worst third baseman he could think of (Minnesota's Tony Batista, released months ago) to help out his own third baseman, Joe Crede.

Francona said such nonsense didn't happen when he got his own coaching staff together to decide who they thought deserved the Gold Glove at each position.

"We sat down as a staff (about two weeks ago), so we weren't rushed," said Francona, who also thinks catcher Jason Varitek, who won his first one last year, deserves serious consideration again this season.

"We argued about it a little bit, but we did it with some respect (for the award)," said Francona.

While obtaining players with defensive skills, particularly in the infield, was a priority last offseason for the Red Sox, it will be interesting to see how the 2006 offseason plays out.

Boston may have to opt for more offense-minded players for next year's team.

The Red Sox are not likely to bring back Loretta, so the second base position is expected to be handed to Dustin Pedroia, who is getting his first taste of big-league action late in the season. It may be unrealistic to expect him to be as steady as Loretta right away, though he may display more range.

But if Boston does indeed trade away Manny Ramirez, it will create a huge hole in the Sox' batting order. As a result, Boston may be in the market for a stronger offensive player at shortstop than Gonzalez, even if defense has to be sacrificed somewhat.

Or maybe the Red Sox will have to find more offense at first base, move Youkilis to third and deal Lowell.

That, though, is next year's issue. This season, Boston's infield defense has been consistently superb. And if the voters remain objective, the Red Sox could be claiming a few Gold Gloves to celebrate their defensive excellence in 2006.

skrasner@projo.com / (401) 277-7340