bpeter. You have come to the same conclusion as most of the intelligent AND sensitive human beings on this site about OLs. It is too bad, but yes, the formula team you have outlined above wins much more often than not. You will find that long years of debate have gone on if you look back at the forums.
Many of us have tried a number of things and come to the conclusion of the fine people who have posted here to answer you.
If you look at the forums, you will see that both theme leagues and progressive leagues have "classifieds" - leagues are looking for people to join and they describe the specific characteristics of their league.
You will see that many theme leagues are constructed precisely to make the kind of team you are dealing with impossible or irrelevant, either by limiting players that can be drafted to certain time periods, or certain stats etc. or by specific exclusions.
Others simply make this kind of team irrelevant by having only certain teams - say, World Series winners, or teams where every player is from the same franchise or has a name starting with the same letter or whatever. Many are a lot of fun. Some continue for more than one season and you have an option of putting a team in this league again or not.
Progressive leagues, which are mostly where I have played for a year or so, are leagues where teams are either 1) all from the same season, and a public draft takes place, each owner taking turns to draft those players who entered MLB that season - so a league might begin in say 1960 and then in 1961 the same owners continue with the same team, drafting some new players that entered in 1961, playing that season; 2) more than one season, often simply to guarantee that enough players are available, so a league might play only players from 1927 and 1977. The following season all players are from 1928 and 78, with the same players on rosters except for those you decide to drop and again drafting those who were newly arrived in MLB that season and so on; 3) a lot of different seasons, but each players still moves ahead in time one year at a time as the league progresses. Most owners remain for many seasons and these leagues become a sort of community. There is no chance of the sort of team you are facing coming about and you get to know people better.
Many of us understand your dismay. We wish "open leagues" were different, but after a while it gets tedious to face Addie Joss day after day.
Check out the classified forums and you will find a lot of good stuff going on.