The game has changed. How many times have we heard that about baseball when, in actuality, the more the game has changed, the more it has remained the same.

It just goes in cycles, that’s all.

The biggest trend in 2011 has been the return of strong pitching. The days of endless slow pitch softball-like scoring is over. Close, low-scoring games are, again, the norm.

Prior to the All Star break, the major league average batting mark was .253. In 2000, it was .270. It is more pronounced in the American League, the land of the designated hitter and band-box ball parks. In 2000, the American League average was .276. This season it is just .254.

This is not new. 1968, which in this town will forever be known as the “Year of the Tiger” is nationally considered the “Year of the Pitcher.” The American League composite batting average that season was just .230.

The game was too low-scoring then, and had become somewhat dull. But that’s one of the many wonderful aspects about baseball. Despite all the goofy things that go on, it has this self-correcting mechanism that ultimately finds its proper balance.

The same can be said for individual seasons. The All-Star break is just a measuring stick. The final product is far from complete. This is what to look for following the break:

— The Red Sox will win the American League East: The Red Sox got off to a 2-10 start, which has skewed the picture of just how well they have played since (53-25). The Red Sox won their last six games leading to the All-Star break. They don’t have holes and the Yankees are somewhat flawed. Through Sept 1., the Yankees play 30 of 49 games on the road, including two trips to Fenway Park. The Red Sox only have 23 road games over the same period.

But it does figure to be a classic chase right down to the very end. Which team wins the division may be a moot point once the postseason begins. The team that doesn’t win the AL East will be the American League’s wild card team.

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