Turkish Delight - 09 JUN 2042

[jcrmoon42]

Been a while since I've written team news of any kind. There is certainly a joy in being part of leagues without writing requirements. At the same time, I have missed the degree of activity of the MBWBA. There have been more posts in one day here than in my other two leagues in a couple of seasons...total! In fact, those leagues don't even use boards any longer. All Slack. All the time. And that's cool, but this is...also cool.

So I sit here in my basement office, quarantined from the world (except my wife and kids), studying another new team/league. Also wondering how long it will take me to get kicked upstairs to the big leagues. Is Halifax still a thing? I think I owned them when I left the last time. I'm 50 now. So my memory isn't so good. What was I talking about?

Oh, that's right. A new team and league to learn.

When Recte said that both Istanbul and Mumbai were open, I thought to myself, "Mumbai is an interesting place. Lots of money there. Also slave labor. So, that's not great. What about Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium? Doesn't everybody there smoke weird little cigarettes and drink sludge coffee? Hmmm...yeah. Not great either. So let's look at the teams. Let's see. Weekly Team Power Rankings. That's a good place to start. Mumbai is...ummm...where are they? Oh...they are ninth out of ten. Okay...room to grow. How about Istan...woah! They are first. It might be fun to start out with winning potential. How about the farm systems? Mumbai is fourth. Istanbul is...fifth? Wait a minute. Win now AND have a decent system? Okay...no brainer."

So I left my dungeon, went upstairs where there is sunlight, and told my wife we were moving to Turkey. Or is it eating Turkey? Or just being a Turkey? In any case, we're moving! Pack up the house, Mildred. (editorial note: My wife is not named "Mildred." I do, however, occasionally refer to her as Mirabelle McLoughlin for reasons that make no sense to either of us.)

So, we're headed off to Istanbul. And what awaits us there?

Besides sitting in first place, it looks like this team has one of the best pitching staffs in the league, led by...a waiver claim? Yeah, looks like veteran Francis Wiles was picked up a couple years ago and is now considered a Top 10 pitcher in the league. Ahead of him in the rankings is 29-year old Brendon Carr. He had a few chances with Louisville and Montreal but failed pretty spectacularly. Gotta say I disagree with OSA on this ranking. This guy is one of those "don't walk anybody, give up lots of homers" guys who work pretty decently in real life but not so much in OOTP. He's gotta go. Can't be trusted.

The offense sits third in the league in runs scored and appears to be built around OBP and speed. I'm not really a stolen base kind of manager. So we'll have to make some adjustments there. The offense is more or less led by 34-year old third baseman Bucky Dornster who hit 186 BBA homers in 13 seasons with Halifax and Atlantic City after being drafted in the first round way back in 2025. After signing this last off-season, he won the "Rookie of the Month" Award in May, leads the league in OBP and BB, sitting in the TOP 5 in WAR. We've also got some big power in LF/DH John Garcia, who won a Landis ring in 2038 with Edmonton and finished second in the Postion Player of the Year voting last year.

So there are pieces here on the defending UMEBA champions. I'll have to get used to these lower ratings and figure out what actually works in this league, but we've got a shot to bring a trophy home. So that's not a bad way to come back.

[Fat Nige]

I’ve left the BBA a few times too, but always come back as these “Slack only, export only” leagues don’t do anything for me. There’s no immersion, no real participation, only the BBA offers that so we must all come back

[Dington]

Glad to have you in UMEBA. Kuwait City if hoping they might have a piece or two you'll need to stay in first.

[recte44]

Moon doggy is back!!!

[HoosierVic]

This is awesome. I would note, though, that you made a tragic error in passing up Mumbai, the crown jewel of the UMEBA universe. Other than that, an excellent re-introduction. Hope you have a blast!

[johnd2442]

You inherited a real nice squad and are able to start off fast. You've got yourself a real nice pitcher in Wiles. Heck, actually Carr too. But Wiles was a pick of mine to be a legitimate choice for an All-Star starting pitcher in this feature I wrote recently.

[jleddy]

Only a two-game lead now...better unpack those boxes quick! There's four other GMs in your division staring the Bosphorus down!

(Loved the article!)

[shoeless.db]

This is awesome. I would note, though, that you made a tragic error in passing up Mumbai, the crown jewel of the UMEBA universe. Other than that, an excellent re-introduction. Hope you have a blast!

I also hold this sentiment. An overwhelming mistake on your part to not take on the role of General Manager for the Metro Stars, the most storied franchise in all the UMEBA. Have fun in ho-hum Istanbul, I guess.