I’ve read in many places that the sudden drop-off in offense is good for the game. I don’t know if people honestly believe that, or if this opinion is just a way of compensating for the perceived illegitimacy of the last two decades. (My take on this perception was summed up nicely by David Schoenfield recently.) Either way, I’m not buying into the idea that any era is truly better than the last. From dead balls to live ones, expansion to free agency, raised mounds to raised HR totals, the game’s core has remained mostly intact, and which element is emphasized is just a cycle which eventually balances out.
With regards to this current rise of pitching, I wonder how it’s any more “real” to see Armando Gallarraga and Dallas Braden throw gems than it is to see Brady Anderson hit 50 homers. Just a few years ago, perfect games and no-hitters were accomplishments worthy of adulation. Today, they seem to occur with the frequency of complete game shutouts during the nascent years of this millennium. I, for one, do not believe these changes are any better for the game than the expectation of having at least one 50-homer player every year.
The Truest Yankee 
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