On Tuesday, Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig announced that baseball owners authorized the removal of two professional baseball teams from the league.

While he would not disclose the franchises that are dropped, the general consensus in the media was that the two teams in question would be the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins. Other teams, including the Oakland A’s and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, also have been mentioned and could be up for the boot.

Is it because baseball has been experiencing hard times? Hardly. The numbers from FOX’s Broadcast of Sunday’s World Series Game Seven beat out CBS’s coverage of the Emmys. Baseball experienced a year where a young Arizona franchise dethroned the mighty New York Yankees, and a year where the home run record was broken by Barry Bonds.

No, the reason is simply a matter of finances. Consider the plight of one team that is up on the chopping block: the Expos. The Expos’ attendance average was just over 7,600 at Olympic Stadium.

Although finance is the number one reason for the expulsion of teams, the expulsion is the right thing to do.

While the expansion of franchises have meant more baseball, more competition and above all that, more money, it has also meant more diluted talent. WIth 30 teams all boasting the same amount of players at the same position, the average level of talent has fallen greatly.

An example of this is the new home run record. It took over 30 years for Mark McGwire to break the home run record that was set by Roger Maris in 1961. That was 1998.

It took only three years for Bonds to break McGwire’s record this year. Not to take anything away from Bonds, but in all honesty, would the home run plateau be as easy to reach if not for the diluted talent in the game?

Baseball is a game of excellence. Those who watch the game tune in to marvel at the skill of the curve ball, the science of the bat swing and the execution of a great catch. To see these magnificent things at their true greatness, the talent pool must be narrowed.

Restructuring is in order.