MLB 2010 Preview: Dead Ball Era

 For our 2010 MLB preview, we're lumping teams into the eras we feel they most resemble.  This will cause our rankings to look more like Power Rankings than Divisional rankings, but, like most things at LCB, I wouldn't take any of it too literally.  Enjoy, comment, critique, lambast.  

The ball came at the plate like a gnat, a dust speck, or a floater in the eye; and the bat felt as narrow as a toothpick.  The game was scrappy, full of sweat.  The stands smelled like a whorehouse, beer and smoke, yet we never felt so innocent, watching Ty Cobb swing like a puppet without strings.  Baseball led us out of the dark of Plato's cave and into the American century.  In an age that rode the wave of electricity, runners advanced around the base paths as if they were Henry Ford's assembly line--runs were put together piece by piece--and one saved up for them like Model-T's.  Then, in the midst of Shoeless Joe's exile and the birth of the Babe, the kegs dried up, the nooses pulled tight, and the anguish of World War One's victory exploded with the crack of a bat and the Deadball Era was just that: dead, deceased, kaput, still-framed in black and white, slouching toward Bethlehem, never again would the narrative be all windup and no pop. 

The Dead Ball era was full of romanticism, the last stand for royal empires and small ball against the might of modernity and the home run.  Henry Adams felt it was inevitable that the Virgin Mary give way to the zapping of electrons, and so Babe Ruth crushed Ty Cobb like a frog prince under John Henry's hammer.  The teams we've assigned to this paradigm will rely on their pitching and the creativity of their offenses, and watching them will feel like a journey back in time for they are but shadows of a bygone era, playing on the outfield wall.   

Atlanta Braves

Key Additions: Jason Heyward (RF), Melky Cabrera (LF), Troy Glaus (1B), Billy Wagner (Closer)

Key Losses: Javier Vazquez (SP), Rafael Soriano (closer), Adam LaRoche (1B)

Storyline to follow:  If this season really is Bobby Cox's last year, then it may feel more like Robert E. Lee leaving the Appomattox Courthouse.  

Chicago White Sox

Key Additions: Andruw Jones (DH), Juan Pierre (OF), Mark Teahen (3B)

Key Losses: Scott Podsednik (OF), Jermaine Dye (OF/DH)

Storyline to follow: I hear Ozzie Guillen joined Twitter within the last month or so.  

San Francisco Giants

Key Additions: Mark DeRosa (LF) , Aubrey Huff (1B)

Key Losses: Randy Johnson (SP--retired)

Storyline to follow: Last year, the Giants only scored 657 runs, but they only gave up 611.  In other words, seeing the Giants' pitchers out and about with the Giants' offense is like seeing a really hot girl with a not so hot guy.  Cliche. . . but true. 

Seattle Mariners
Key Additions: Cliff Lee (SP), Chone Figgins (2B), Milton Bradley (LF)
Key Losses: Adrian Beltre (3B), Kenji Johjima (C), Casey Kotchman
Storyline to follow: Ichiro should be discussed more, not just in baseball circles, but everywhere, especially considering that he's now thirty-six years old.  He also seems a fitting end to this post, seeing as he just may be the "nice" version of Ty Cobb, as well as a symbol of globalization, putting him in direct contrast to a man like Cobb.