I have now had two seasons (73 and 74) without using the DH. This is re-drafted leagues, but my observation is that most AL pitchers from hit roughly equivalently to their NL counterparts.

That said, if you are trying to assess the capabilities of real-life rosters, keep in mind that many teams will see a 3-4-5 type hitter become nothing more than a pinch hitter if you don't use the DH, which will skew those teams' performance downward. Not that *I* would have any gripes about that, as I have about as much love for the DH as you do.