What's kind of sad about that is, it proves that they aren't keeping the show going to continue exploring the characters and story possibilities - they just want to have the most episodes.
Say, not to steer this too off-topic, but I haven't watched any new episodes in a while - is Al Jean still the showrunner? 'Cause if so, I think it's high time he stepped down and let someone else take over for a while. If the show's going to go on this long, the least they can do is cycle the writers' room like they used to.