New Owners Needed for the 1911 Season

As of right now, the UBA, Inc. is looking for two new owners for the 1911 season. Contact mrtheedge via Whatifsports.com sitemail to reserve a spot.

In The Gap

Sorry to all of you ITG fans out there for the long wait in between posts, life has been super busy lately, but hopefully now I can get going and dig into some UBA news.

The trading deadline has come and past, and some teams who desperately needed to make moves, fell short. Nashville, for one, lost solid pitcher Willie Duran to the injury bug. Owner and GM xnay told me that they would be in the market for a pitcher at the deadline because of their misfortune with injuries. As the time to make trades has come and gone, I do not know if Nashville changed their feeling on the situation or just failed to put something together, but it seems as if they have been left out of the fun. Their lack of making a move may come back to haunt them as they still have roughly 15 days without Duran, and only hold a 3 game lead on the Mexico City Diablos Rojos. Time will tell if this move was bold, or foolish, but We here at ITG wish xnay and everyone else in the division the best of luck in the rest of the season.

In some international news, Tony Ibarra, highly touted SP prospect from the Dominican, is looking for some big money to play in this world. Scouts have his demands at a little over $12M. An astronomical amount that has kept many teams away from the bidding for him. However, an anonymous source tells me that the New Orleans Pelicans might be in talks and close to a deal with Ibarra. Ibarra continues to deny any such news, saying, “Nobody can afford me! If I don’t get my money, I’ll just go home and play ball, that don’t bother me at all. You really think I want to play with some Pelicans?” He adamantly stresses that he will not be a bargain of any kind, and that he doesn’t want to be a Pelican, but we’ll see what happens, this guy seems to have a big mouth, but in the end, it’s not him, but money that talks.

That’s all we have for this edition of In The Gap. We will be back with another issue soon as a follow up to some of the big stories of the league. Thanks for reading.
-Doug

In The Gap

In a very unexpected move this morning, the New York Gothams have agreed in principle on a deal that would send Mariano Brito and Troy Anderson to Syracuse for second baseman Keith Raines, and pitchers Heath Stokes and Nate Wickman. As recent as yesterday morning, there were talks of brito being sent to KC who no doubt could have used his services, but a source from the Kansas City area told me those talks stalled and eventually fell apart late last night when NY insisted that Bo Kane be included along with Brian Backe. New York’s ownership later confirmed this by saying “[the trade talks] fell through, Brito will be in another city tomorrow… and it won’t be KC.” After speaking to KC’s owner, sjd0378, he had this to say:

“Yes, there have been discussions between us and the Gothams concerning a deal for Mariano Brito however talks have stalled when NY's demands have become a bit too steep, such as requesting that KC throw in Bo Kane, another big time pitching prospect, and Owner/GM sjd0378's first born child. We feel that we are able to offer a more than fair package but we were not willing to meet the latest demands by the Gotham management.”

There you have it, right from the horse’s mouth. I guess the lesson to be learned here is that asking for an owner’s first born may be pushing it a bit. In any case, I will be getting reactions from around the league and will have a follow up story later today. As always, if you hear some grumblings, or have some news, TC me (you can remain anonymous) and I’ll try to keep this blog as lively as it has been in the past 24 hours. Over and out-

--Doug

BREAKING NEWS

In The Gap

Some breaking news here on In The Gap, as it has just been brought to me by an anonymous source that the Kansas City - New York deal for Mariano Brito has stalled. The player in question is KC top prospect Bo Kane. It is believed that NY is asking for Bo Kane AND a Top Pitching Prospect. as of now, no deal has been made, but I'll keep everyone posted.

In The Gap

In The Gap is the title of the article I will be posting now and then on our blog. In it, I will be elaborating on some league news as well as any rumblings and grumblings from around the league. For future notice, you may TC me at any time with something you’d like to see included in the article. I hope you all enjoy.

In the first installment of in the gap there are a few major issues that need to be addressed. First of all, can someone please tell me what was going through the head of Mexico City SS, Macbeth Phillips? I mean, yeah, he may not be the best hitting SS in the world, in fact, I’d venture to say that he is likely on the team for his defense, but you can’t be making bonehead plays on the base paths. It is just unacceptable. For all of you who are out of the loop, Mr. Phillips hit a triple to pull the Diablos Rojos within one run of tying their game against the Syracuse Chiefs… in the bottom of the ninth no less! Now, I don’t want to knock the Chiefs here, but they are not having the best season, but this was a game that could have been pulled out by the second place Diablos Rojos. Mexico City is having a decent year and is currently locked in a dogfight with the Nashville Sounds for lead of the AL South. A mere five games out, the Diablos Rojos could have picked up a game on the division leaders had Phillips not run them out of the game. And come on people, what is one of the cardinal sins of baseball? Making the last out at third. With the top of the order coming up next, this is a mistake that may have single handedly cost the Diablos Rojos a crucial game in the hunt come the end of the year. Congratulations to Davis Jang for stepping up and making a big play when it mattered, that is the kind of stuff that separates good players from great players.

In some rough news from the bottom of the AL East as the Chicago Colts have lost 12 games in a row. Since making a blockbuster trade to deal Jose Lima, the team has forgotten how to win games and has dropped 20 games behind the Division leading Philadelphia Athletics. I recently spoke with Chicago’s owner, tyvet515, who expressed his frustration with the team saying “I knew we wouldn’t win the [world series] this year, but I don’t want to be an embarrassment. I am going to toss the lineup around and shake the pitching staff up some. Hopefully we can win another game before the all star break.” We’ll see how that works out for him.

Finally some trade rumors. Earlier in the week, mrtheedge proclaimed his desire to trade young stud Mariano Brito, and as of today, no deal has been reached. I have been informed by an inside source that a deal with the Kansas City Monarchs might be in the works, but no further details were released. KC has been in the market for a number one SP and has dangled Howie Patterson, among other prospects, as trade bait. Being the math scholar that I am, I was able to put one and one together and deduct that Patterson and some prospects may be headed to NY in return for Brito. Brito would no doubt bolster an already strong rotation for the Monarchs, who are fighting for first with the Oakland Oaks in the AL West, and Patterson is a sure future stud, with the potential to win 20 games for many years. Elsewhere in the league, the Chicago Colts have declared all of their players are available for prospects and Knucklebones and the NY Highlanders have made a deal that should give him the money he needs to sign the rest of his picks.

Thanks for reading everyone! Any questions/comments/ect. just sitemail me!

Welcome to our new owners!

We have some great new owners joining the 1909 addition of the UBA

Austin Hix
Pittsburgh Stogies
Toledo Mud Hens
Oakland Oaks
Philadelphia Athletics
New York Highlanders (under new ownership)
Chicago Colts
Chicago Feds
Trenton Thunder
New Orleans Pelicans

While we lost a number of owners last season, just about every team was filled with either a former owner in the league or someone who is connected to another league member.

Minor Leagues

HBD is a great simulation because you control all levels of your franchise and maintaining your minor leagues, particularly your pitching staffs, is vital for everybody's enjoyment. When you set your budget be sure to leave room for a full minor league roster. That is just over $4 million (not including those on your inactive rosters). If you see your team losing games by a lot of runs, that is a good sign that you should probably be paying attention to pitching fatigue.