Some baseball fans and those in the media would have you believe that these are MLB’s halcyon days. Nothing is trending downward and attendance figures and the pace of play would indicate that I’m barking at the moon for suggesting we have some very serious problems. Even with the abundance of international stars there is still a shortage of real talent. One could argue that the game is top heavy and that it’s balanced out by all of the crappy players forced to fill out 26-man rosters. For all the players putting up spectacular offensive numbers, they are doing so against inferior pitching that is woefully ill-prepared to be pitching in the Big Leagues. I’d argue one problem is the lack of development at the minor league level.

What can’t be argued is that MLB is facing a pitching crisis and the supposedly smartest minds haven’t come up with solutions. For the purpose of this blog, it’s more than just craving ridiculously high velocity. Clearly the powers that be are treating pitchers as little more than disposable chattel. What I can state with complete certainty is that before the Cubs’ Michael Boyd’s fluke injury this morning, there were 168 pitchers on the IL. This number doesn’t account for the guys that were on the IL earlier this season or repeat offenders. At any given point in a regular season, there are 780 players on ML rosters. Because I’ve put in a full day, I’m not going to do the math: 168/780-not so good.

With the exception of the Cardinals and Pirates (one pitcher each), every team’s pitching is being stretched to the max right now and if anyone thinks these numbers are going to improve, they’re cuckoo for Coco Puffs. Forget the injuries to position players. There just aren’t that many MLB ready players right now to fill the rosters in Frostbite Falls.

The thought of two or four more MLB teams is as ridiculous as further expansion in the NFL. For the past decade or so, there haven’t been 32 quality starting quarterbacks. Even a blase football fan like me can see that writing on the wall.

While I love to watch my favorite teams beat up the weak sisters, I don’t want to revisit the Washington Senators. We also don’t need more postseason baseball in November. And a Super Bowl in late February or early March is a definite no.