In reviewing a few of my fantasy teams this morning I noticed that two of them made a big leap in one particular category last night - stolen bases. One team had a total of six, another had five. That is quite a bit for any normal squad but it seems to me that teams have been stealing more already this season. And a look at the numbers backs me up.

Last season in the month of April there were 423 bases swiped in the major leagues. That is an average of a little more than 14 per day. The total has been as low as 368 stolen bases in April of 2004. This year through 18 days (inluding March 31) players have already stolen 300 bases. That is an average of 16 2/3 per day and is on pace for 500 in the month. There have not been 500 bases stolen in a month in a long time. Longer than I was able to research.

So who is stealing bags? Everyone. Through Thurday's games Michael Bourn and Carlos Gomez each had nine steals. Chone Figgins and Joey Gathright were next with seven each. But from their things get a bit crazy. 27 different players have three to five steals so far. Another 42 have two. And among those 42 are some of the best from last year including Jimmy Rollins, Juan Pierre, Hanley Ramirez and Eric Byrnes. Each could easily triple their total this weekend.

What does all this mean? Well, for one thing, it makes for some good baseball. If a triple is the most exciting play in baseball a stolen base is a close second. Sure it gets annoying watching a pitcher throw over to first four or five times between every pitch. But that is what makes the steal even better. Everyone knows it is going to happen it is just a matter of when. It is even more fun when the ball gets through and the runner jumps up to head for third. Either way it is a lot better than some guy standing two steps off of first base waiting for the next batter to drive him in. Players should make something happen.

Also, if this is a new trend - and the early numbers would suggest it is - there will be an impact on fantasy leagues. Many owners do not overly concern themselves with steals and just count on that one guy they drafted early or plan to pick up a couple of younger players in August. But that strategy may not work too well if players keep running at this pace. Owners will find their teams in a deep hole in a category that scores just the same as all the rest.