In case you've been living under a rock for the past year, Major League Baseball is in trouble.

Players, management and fans alike have acknowledged that baseball is a sport in rapid decline.

The younger generations would more readily play pick-up basketball than sandlot baseball.

And stickball--once a staple of urban athletics--is a thing of the past.

Attendance is down dramatically--Milwaukee drew a paltry 20,568 fans for its home opener.

The recent backlash against the strike only highlights baseball's decline over the last decade.

In order to resurrect our National Pastime, the "Lords of Baseball" should consider the following proposals:

1) Improve Marketing.

Major League baseball is teeming with young talent, perhaps now more than at any point in the last twenty years.

Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza and Frank Thomas should be marketed as Larry, Magic and Michael were in the late '80's by the NBA.

The NBA has captured fans with catchy slogans such as "The NBA--It's Fan-tastic" and "I Love This Game."

Baseball should do the same.

2) Freeze Expansion.

The talent pool in baseball is spread incredibly thin at the present. In last year's abbreviated season, every team in the American League West was under 500.

While expansion would generate revenue for the owners--each new franchise must pay an enormous "initiation" Fee--the overall level of play would continue to decline and turn off fans.