4/22 According to STATS …

According to STATS Inc., scoring has been on a steady decline over the last five seasons, dropping to 4.38 runs per game per team in 2010, the lowest average since 1992. Major League clubs are averaging just 4.31 runs a game so far in 2011. Is it the weather? Maybe. The current 2011 average is the lowest March-April mark going back to 1992.

Lowest Runs per Game Average per Team in March-April, 1992-2011
1992                   4.12
2011                   4.31
1993                   4.51
2008                   4.53
2007                   4.54
2010                   4.55

* The Cubs have posted a .351 average and .395 OBP leading off innings this spring, the highest team marks in the Majors. Capitalizing on leadoff baserunners hasn’t come as easy, as the Cubs are tied for 19th among the 30 teams with an average of 4.11 runs per game.

* When Carlos Zambrano homered in Houston last week, it was 22nd of his career. It moved him into the top 10 for home runs by pitchers in the modern era. He has more than twice as many homers as any active pitcher in the Majors. In fact, Big Z’s 22 homers are a solid total for any Major Leaguer with as few as 624 at-bats. Among the 307 active non-pitchers who meet that minimum, 51 have fewer home runs than Zambrano.

– Carrie Muskat