Baseball reference gives the league rank -
2012 - 14
2011 - 12
2010 - 14
2009 - 9
2008 - 14
2007 - 16
2006 - 10
2005 - 16
For 2012 I don't know if they take into account the number of games played by each team (and last year we only played 161).
If one wants to base offensive comparisons on league averages, this is a better method, and shows that our offense has - at best - stagnated over the years. No offense to JCA, but claiming progress based on methods comparing the current ranking of this team with the to-date progress of other teams compared to their whole-year ranking is a questionable approach. As the now-popular saying on both sides goes, "the season's not over", so we can't pretend that it is when comparing run production to other incarnations of the offense.
That said, I don't think the fact that scoring is down around the league matters in a purely offensive discussion. Whatever the reasons, Nationals offensive production has steadily declined since 2009.
