Paul Jasienski/Getty Images

Carl Crawford, 28-for-28 in stolen base attempts, is on pace to reach 100 steals in 2009.

By Tim Kurkjian, ESPN The Magazine

There is no doubt that teams in the post-steroid era are looking for different ways to score runs and different ways to prevent runs. We've had a real emphasis on defense the past couple of years. The Rays and Phillies, arguably the two best defensive teams in baseball last year, both made the World Series. Everyone understands that in addition to defense you need a depth of pitching or you are not going to win.

A lot has been made of the stolen base as an offensive weapon recently.

We've seen two steals of the plate (by Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and Houston's Michael Bourn) so far this season. We've seen Dexter Fowler of the Rockies steal five bases in a game and Carl Crawford of the Rays steal six in a game. All of this suggests that running is really expanding and that teams are trying to steal more bases than in the past.

But as I look at the stolen base figures, there hasn't been that much of a spike. Stolen bases are up just a little bit, but barely, from the 2000 season, which, as most fans will remember, was at the peak of the steroid era. The increase from 2000 to now is negligible, suggesting that teams are still hesitant to try to advance 90 feet on a play at the risk of an out.

Baseball is still very much an offensive game, and what people tend to forget is that in the past first-base coaches weren't always standing around with stop watches in their hands timing pitchers as they throw to the plate and catchers as they throw to second base. Now, that is commonplace.

About 15 years ago, teams really made an effort to take the running game away, and the trend has continued ever since. That's why we don't see as many steals anymore. Every pitcher slide-steps now and teams understand that they need to hold guys at first base to prevent runs.

So is the home run falling out of fashion? Hardly. Yes, the home run has been steadily decreasing since 1999-2000, but the number hasn't gone down that drastically. We are in an era when guys will swing as hard as they can, whether it's a 3-0 count or an 0-2 count. That's part of the reason why so many hitters are striking out. Chris Davis just struck out in 21 straight games, and that feat wasn't even remarkable. Plenty of hitters have reached 20-game strikeout streaks in the past few years. Keep in mind that Joe DiMaggio's longest strikeout streak was four games. And now 20 games isn't anything special.

There are players from every era who consistently swung for the fences, but one legacy of the steroid era is the large number of hitters who get to the plate and swing big every time. We may be starting to see more hitters change their approach, but it's happening very, very slowly. Despite some of the attention that the stolen base has received lately, we won't be seeing as many steals as we did 40 years ago. Baseball isn't ready, and probably never will be, to turn its back on the long ball.

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: May 21 | May 20 | May 19 | May 18 | May 17

WEB GEMS SCOREBOARD

This season, "Baseball Tonight" will be tracking Web Gems. We'll publish a leaderboard on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page each Monday. In addition to listing the leaders in appearances (both players and teams) on "Baseball Tonight," we'll offer up the leaders in Web Gem Points.

Web Gem Points will be calculated by awarding five points for the night's top defensive play, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Scoring will be based on the Web Gems from the last "Baseball Tonight" show to air on a given night.

Web Gem Points leaderboard
Brandon Inge	22
Nick Punto	17
Ryan Sweeney	17
David Wright	16
Michael Bourn	13
Ryan Zimmerman	13

Web Gem appearances leaderboard (players)
Brandon Inge	Detroit	Third base	7
David Wright	New York Mets	Third base	7
Nick Punto	Minnesota	Infield	4
Michael Bourn	Houston	Center field	4
Ryan Zimmerman	Washington	Third base	4
Ryan Sweeney	Oakland	Outfield	4

Web Gem appearances leaderboard (teams)
Washington	13
Texas	12
Tampa Bay	12
Philadelphia	12
NY Mets	11
Oakland	11

ON DECK: MONDAY'S BEST MATCHUPS

Cardinals at Brewers, 2:05 p.m. ET

It's a battle of aces -- Chris Carpenter vs. Yovani Gallardo -- as the two NL Central front-runners open their second series of the season. The Brewers swept the Cardinals in St. Louis more than a week ago. Despite an oblique injury that sidelined him for more than a month, Carpenter has yet to allow an earned run in 2009, pitching 15 scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Gallardo has emerged as the Brewers' No. 1 starter. Before losing his last start at Houston, he'd won three straight decisions.

Tigers at Royals, 2:10 p.m. ET

The two AL Central leaders open a three-game set. Justin Verlander, perhaps baseball's hottest pitcher, takes the mound for Detroit as the two AL Central leaders open a three-game set. In his past five starts, the Tigers fireballer has gone 4-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. In his career he's also owned a 7-1 record and 2.43 ERA against the Royals, who've lost 11 of their past 15 and were shut out twice over the weekend. Gil Meche (2-4, 4.42 ERA) starts for Kansas City.

Rays at Indians, 6:05 p.m. ET

Baseball's top prospect, David Price, makes his first start of 2009 for the Rays, who will try to end a 13-game road losing streak at Cleveland, where they haven't won since 2005. Price, 23, went 1-4 with a 3.93 ERA at Triple-A Durham. The left-hander, starting in place of the injured Scott Kazmir, will face Indians starter Fausto Carmona, who gave up five runs but beat Tampa Bay on May 14.

For the rest of Monday's schedule, click here.

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	PITCHER	SITUATION
J. Hamilton, Tex	6	Hou	Hampton	Top 1: 3-1, 2 Outs. None on.
M. Teixeira, NYY	13	Phi	Hamels	Bot 6: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on.
A. Dunn, Was	14	Bal	Walker	Bot 7: 2-2, 1 Outs. Gr. Slam.
J. Wilson, Pit	1	CWS	Jenks	Top 9: 1-0, 2 Outs. None on.
K. Griffey Jr., Sea	5	SF	Zito	Bot 1: 0-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
J. Morneau, Min	13	Mil	Stetter	Bot 7: 0-0, 2 Outs. Gr. Slam.

The complete list of Sunday's homers