STATS Corner

The Chicago Cubs have a remarkably relentless lineup. The National League does not use the designated hitter, and yet the Cubs have a higher batting average from the bottom three spots in their batting order than any team in the major leagues.

The Angels, with the best record in the major leagues, have the next-to-lowest batting average of any American League team in those spots.

The Cubs, with the best record in the NL, have most commonly batted catcher Geovany Soto seventh and outfielder Reed Johnson eighth. Soto, a candidate for rookie of the year, is batting .288 with 21 home runs. Johnson, cut by the Toronto Blue Jays on the eve of the season, is batting .305 as a platoon partner for center fielder Jim Edmonds.

And Carlos Zambrano is not only an ace on the mound. Zambrano is batting .355 with four home runs and 14 runs batted in. The Dodgers’ Andruw Jones has three home runs and 14 runs batted in.

In this week’s STATS Corner, the batting averages from the bottom three spots in the lineup, through Friday’s games, from STATS LLC:

*--* 1. Cubs: .279 19. Diamondbacks: .236 2. Twins: .275 20. Brewers: .235 3. Red Sox: .272 21. Phillies: .230 4. Rangers: .272 22. Nationals: .226 5. White Sox:.266 23. Mets: .224 6. Rays: .258 24. Reds: .223 7. Jays: .256 25. Pirates: .223 8. Indians .254 26. Marlins: .218 9. Tigers: .253 27. Giants: .218 10. Orioles: .252 28. Astros: .218 17. Angels: .239 29. Dodgers: 206 18. Athletics: .237 30. Padres: .203 *--*