2043-2044 UMEBA Contraction Process

[recte44]

We gave 12 teams a shot with the UMEBA, but it turned out to be just too many teams. Coupled with a complete lack of participation expectations for the league, some changes needed to be made.

So here's what's going to happen. We're contracting four teams and reducing to an eight team format.

Athens- Jay Tannehill
Baghdad- Jose Gonzalez
Beirut- Charles August
Bucharest- Jim Cox
Jerusalem- John Momberg
Libyan- Herb DeSpain
Manama- Brett Schroeder
Mumbai- Mike Bieschke

Contracting these four teams:
Cairo
C.S.K.A.
Istanbul
Kuwait City

We'll start a UMEBA ONLY Contraction Draft shortly.
The Contraction Draft will apply to only players on the 40 man roster of the four departing teams who are not impending free agents. It will be a five round draft in order of worst record to best in a serpentine fashion. All remaining players on major league rosters will become Free Agents.

The minor league prospects will be divided equally by me between all of the UMEBA teams.

There will be a couple more issues to resolve pertaining to the UMEBA that are up for discussion.
1) There needs to be some sort of participation minimum here. Obviously exporting (three consecutive missed exports is means for removal). But also some participation in the forums is necessary.
I'm proposing a very small 8 PP requirement with at least 2 Team News.

2) What setup do we want for leagues/playoffs?
My thought-
* Two four team leagues weighted with league play and mixed with interleague play.
* Split season playoff eligibility

[Dington]

Not my Alhafr!!! Mr. Domingo Rivera will not be happy to hear this.

Might as well not even have two leagues. Just keep one league, top 4 go to playoffs.

[HerbD]

Absolutely needs to be a participation requirement. I'd use the same as the BBA, if you cannot commit to that in the UMEBA then you should not be considered for the BBA.

I would be ok with single league of eight teams with top two or three making the postseason. It really doesn't matter as long as it is consistent. I'm just not a big fan of half the league making the postseason, especially a small league.

What are the expectations for the UMEBA from the BBA? When I joined I was under the impression that it had strictly been a holding place for the BBA but it was moving towards being it's own entity that could/would stand alone. Then as the season progressed it seems the turnover in the BBA was extraordinarily high and the UMBA had a good portion of AI controlled teams and a good portion of inactive GMS to go with that. If I had thought the UMEBA was heading in this direction I would not have passed up on the BBA opportunity. Bottom line is the activity has to be monitored in the UMEBA the same as the BBA and actions taken for those who fail to comply with the simple standards. Again, if they do not participate in the UMEBA while waiting for a BBA team then they will not participate in the BBA. Accountability is the key.

That's all I have for now.

[Dington]

Absolutely needs to be a participation requirement. I'd use the same as the BBA, if you cannot commit to that in the UMEBA then you should not be considered for the BBA.

I would be ok with single league of eight teams with top two or three making the postseason. It really doesn't matter as long as it is consistent. I'm just not a big fan of half the league making the postseason, especially a small league.

What are the expectations for the UMEBA from the BBA? When I joined I was under the impression that it had strictly been a holding place for the BBA but it was moving towards being it's own entity that could/would stand alone. Then as the season progressed it seems the turnover in the BBA was extraordinarily high and the UMBA had a good portion of AI controlled teams and a good portion of inactive GMS to go with that. If I had thought the UMEBA was heading in this direction I would not have passed up on the BBA opportunity. Bottom line is the activity has to be monitored in the UMEBA the same as the BBA and actions taken for those who fail to comply with the simple standards. Again, if they do not participate in the UMEBA while waiting for a BBA team then they will not participate in the BBA. Accountability is the key.

That's all I have for now.

I agree with the participation requirement. It's not very difficult of a requirement in the BBA and I feel like many people are attracted to the BBA for the writing and participation. Also, if I were you, I would jump to BBA if given an opportunity. I wanted to stay in UMEBA, too, but it proved it would not succeed as its own stand alone league. I think it should stay as an intro league waiting room.

[aaronweiner]

It's going to be eight teams for a very long time, Herb. We were overambitious and it's obviously caused us to make some uncomfortable decisions.

Thanks for your patience.

[bschr682]

I understand the thought process. I can’t speak for anyone else but with pp minimums imposed you are going to have to replace me. I really do not have the time.

Based on what I’ve seen here and on slack, you will have to replace everyone except Beirut, Athens and Libya.

[recte44]

Writing four articles means you would have to write something about once every seven sims. It's the "export only" mentality that has killed the UMEBA.

[bschr682]

Not disagreeing. But in my particular case I cannot do it. If i could handle 2, I’d have been able to handle 5 or whatever the BBA one is. No time for me. Maybe others are different though.

[CTBrewCrew]

Can Brett and I co-manage?

[CTBrewCrew]

...and NOOOOOO my 2nd fav UMEBA logo is now going the way of the Hartford Whalers logo! It will now become the highest selling merchandise in the BBA Shop for a team that doesn't exist.

[bschr682]

@recte44 If you are up for a little constructive feedback I would highly suggest finding a league format where you guys are ok with some teams being run by AI. That way the number of human UMEBA gms can ebb and flow without causing chaos. Just a thought.

[recte44]

can not happen. AI run teams will sign and claim all the players before human GM's get a chance to do so. I appreciate the idea, but it would be real bad in practice.

[HoosierVic]

I, for one, would be happy to babysit a UMEBA team during times when it has no GM. I really enjoyed the league when I first joined the Brewster, and I would enjoy being involved again, even if it's just here and there to get a team through a rough patch.

[bschr682]

can not happen. AI run teams will sign and claim all the players before human GM's get a chance to do so. I appreciate the idea, but it would be real bad in practice.

Yea I see your point. Well then I fear this will be a recurring issue. It’s already just a placeholder league so once your team is out of the race it’s going to be very hard to maintain interest.

Split season format might help that a bit. Is that just a hair season split? If you could go quarter season that might be cool. Then have a playoff with those 4 quarter season champs. Ootp probably can’t handle that though.

[HerbD]

Yea I see your point. Well then I fear this will be a recurring issue. It’s already just a placeholder league so once your team is out of the race it’s going to be very hard to maintain interest.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. Just like any OOTP league you know what you are getting into when you join. The expectations for this league are higher than most but it is clearly spelled out on the application where you are asked to confirm and acknowledge such. I didn't see anything on my application that said you don't have to meet the requirements while running a UMEBA team.

Some guys are in leagues just to win. Some, like me, are in it to have fun which doesn't always have to include winning. My team's been out of the race since week one.

[recte44]

can not happen. AI run teams will sign and claim all the players before human GM's get a chance to do so. I appreciate the idea, but it would be real bad in practice.

Yea I see your point. Well then I fear this will be a recurring issue. It’s already just a placeholder league so once your team is out of the race it’s going to be very hard to maintain interest.

Split season format might help that a bit. Is that just a hair season split? If you could go quarter season that might be cool. Then have a playoff with those 4 quarter season champs. Ootp probably can’t handle that though.

It can't. I thought of half season as a way to keep everyone engaged, even guys joining midway through would have a shot.

[recte44]

Yea I see your point. Well then I fear this will be a recurring issue. It’s already just a placeholder league so once your team is out of the race it’s going to be very hard to maintain interest.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. Just like any OOTP league you know what you are getting into when you join. The expectations for this league are higher than most but it is clearly spelled out on the application where you are asked to confirm and acknowledge such. I didn't see anything on my application that said you don't have to meet the requirements while running a UMEBA team.

Some guys are in leagues just to win. Some, like me, are in it to have fun which doesn't always have to include winning. My team's been out of the race since week one.

Herb is the winner!

[bschr682]

Yea I see your point. Well then I fear this will be a recurring issue. It’s already just a placeholder league so once your team is out of the race it’s going to be very hard to maintain interest.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. Just like any OOTP league you know what you are getting into when you join. The expectations for this league are higher than most but it is clearly spelled out on the application where you are asked to confirm and acknowledge such. I didn't see anything on my application that said you don't have to meet the requirements while running a UMEBA team.

Some guys are in leagues just to win. Some, like me, are in it to have fun which doesn't always have to include winning. My team's been out of the race since week one.

I’m glad you feel that way but I hope you understand that puts you in the minority. I was speaking broadly. You will never fill up 8 UMEBA teams with people who share those same views. So UMEBA will constantly have rudderless ships. Split season format will help though.

[bschr682]

Don’t get me wrong. You are exactly what UMEBA needs. It’s just they need 8 of you lol.

[Dington]

UMEBA had a strong core just before @HerbD joined. If it weren’t for all the promotions, UMEBA could possibly be its own mini-BBA with owners wanting to stay.