Would Fox bail on MLB?

Continuing on Brad's theme of ratings problems for FOX and the World Series, I stumbled across this innocuous little post on The Big Lead regarding what Colin Cowherd said on ESPN. Here's the quote:

“Baseball fans better pray the Rays win tonight, or FOX could bail on them. [Network TV channels] and NBC all bailed on baseball. Too expensive. You might see the World Series on TBS. Great sport, poorly run. Can you imagine the AFC Championship ending at 1:45 in the morning? If you don’t think it [Ed. ratings?] matters, go ask hockey.”

While I don't particularly like Cowherd, he raises an interesting point regarding baseball and network television. Costs are up, ratings are down, advertisers are flat. Is FOX better served focusing on the NFL and the BCS?

Keep in mind, MLB starts its own network on Jan. 1, 2009. I suppose it is possible at some point down the line we could see baseball only on cable. Do we need to prepare another chapter for the excellent book featured on the right?

Photo from the University of Nebraska press website.