Small Ball: A Lost Form of Art?

   A home run in baseball is arguably the most exciting moment during the course of a game.  That brings up the question; if a team is losing a game by six runs how much does that solo shot in the ninth really mean?  The answer is nothing at all except to the batter's overall stats.   The team still loses by five runs, and if the player is happy about padding his stats in a five run loss he should question his loyalty to the club.  A home run might be exciting for the fans, but it's what a team does before that big blast that is the formula for success in baseball.
   The dead-ball era occurred between the years of 1900 to 1919, and teams averaged just over 3 runs per game.  In those nineteen years, the game was won or lost based on the strategies of the hit-and-run, bunting, stealing bases and other tricks of the trade that have now become known as "small ball".  Teams of that era were built around pitching and offensive speed.  A club might only score three runs in a game, but that was all that they might need to post a win in the standings.  Now teams rely too much on the long ball to produce runs, and steer away from the strategies essential to win games.  Stealing a base, a hit-and-run, or a well placed bunt forces the other team into mistakes that might cost them the game. 
   On February 29,  A.J. Burnett of the Pittsburgh Pirates broke his orbital bone near his right eye in a bunting drill.   The injury required surgery and the Pirates lost the pitcher for at least 3 months.  This just proves that teams, at all levels of the game, do not practice "small ball" enough and bunting is becoming a lost art form in the game today.   Some fans might argue that an injury like that is evidence to support the case for the DH to be adopted by the National League.  The rule produces a different type of game centered around hitting, and takes some of the strategy away from the manager.  Late in the game a manager doesn't have to worry about pinch hitting for the pitcher with the DH in the lineup, and a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up is out of the question unless the manager wants to take the bat out of another hitter's hands.  This pitcher-as-a-hitter strategy is basically restricted to the National League. 
   Since the strategies of "small ball" are becoming a lost art form in the game today, so are the strategies set to defend against them.  Why should this part of the game be phased out?  Baserunners, speed on the bases, and a baseball genius in the dugout will win games.  Sacrifice bunts to move the runners over will produce the runs to win games, and the big hitters will still hit their home runs.  When the power hitter comes to the plate however, how much better would it be to have two men in scoring position?  Now a base hit could mean two runs with a runner still on base.  A stolen base, another hit, and all of a sudden the rally needed to win that game has been ignited.